The Island
by Mallory Monroe
Summary: Bella is stranded on a deserted island with handsome, infuriating Edward Cullen, and her two best friends are too busy with their own romantic entanglements to help. All human. All regular pairings. This vacation wasn't what they had in mind...
1. Graduation

_Author's Note: Thanks for coming and checking out my fic. To all of you who read Pulse, thanks for checking back! To those who haven't read my other story, I'm glad to have some new readers. Hopefully everyone will enjoy this story. I'm trying to keep the chapters from being too long, so please stick in their. The beginning may seem a little slow, but I promise it does pick up. I just have to build up to it. Chapters should be out fairly quick, so check back often or put me on your author alert. I hope you enjoy!_

**Bella**

"Isabella Swan."

My name echoed around the auditorium and I inhaled nervously, attempting to steel myself. I saw Mike Newton flash a smile at me from the other side of the stage, diploma clutched eagerly in his hands. I gave a brief smile back, then caught Lauren glaring daggers at me. I was so glad I would not have to deal with her anymore. I took in another deep, fortifying breath and started walking, focusing all of my attention on not tripping. Even though I had insisted- despite Alice's best efforts- that I wear flats on this occasion, I still worried that I would make a fool of myself in front of everyone.

I reached my principle and took my diploma, briefly shaking his hand, and then the next name was called and the crisis was over. I had made it. Not only across the stage, but through high school. It all seemed sort of surreal. I couldn't believe that twelve years of education were behind me, and that next fall I would be going to the University of Washington. I'd gotten my acceptance letter ages ago, and it was all I could think about. I'd already picked out my classes, toured the campus, and applied for my student loans. This summer, all I had to do was sit back and relax.

**Alice**

Hours had been spent getting ready. Last month I had begun the process of picking out the perfect graduation outfit, and maybe a few other things. I was so completely peeved though. They expected me to put that ugly gown over my Coco Chanel vintage black dress? I had to wear some ugly graduation cap over my hair? I'd spent so long making it look cute and spiky and flippy. Besides, the shape of that hat didn't really compliment the shape of my face. It was way too severe on my heart shaped façade.

I wondered what Edward was doing right now. He had graduated earlier today, and I had insisted both of my parents attend his graduation. After all, school was his thing, not mine. He was my twin, but he had definitely gotten the lions share of the book-smarts. I wasn't complaining though. As far as charm and style went, I was ahead of the curve. I had taken after my artistic mother, and Edward had taken after our logical father. It just goes to show that the world takes all sorts of people.

I was also much more sociable than my brother. I loved being around people, being the center of attention, so on and so forth. Edward, even though he was at a boarding school and surrounded by his peers 24/7, had few friends. He was quiet and reserved. Not that he wasn't nice or anything, but he could be a little rough around the edges sometimes. I often heard people murmur after meeting him that he was pretentious and rude. I believed they just didn't understand him. My brother was difficult, sure, but he had a kind hard.

While I didn't have Edwards problems making friends, I did choose to have a small circle of confidantes. When I needed a shoulder to cry on, I relied on my two best friends, and I was there for them every way that I could be. I had known Rosalie my whole life. I was one of the few people who wasn't offended by her often cold demeanor. I saw right past her frosty exterior to the beauty on the inside. Really, she was loving and compassionate and honest, once you got to know her. She'd just been hurt more times than she could count, and didn't easily let people in

Bella had just moved to Forks two years ago, but I had felt sure we would be best friends instantly, and I was right. She was pretty much the opposite of Rose. Bella was shy, sweet, and easily embarrassed. She was also super smart, modest, and the clumsiest person I had ever met. Oh, and she had no fashion sense whatsoever.

At graduation, I had practically been bouncing in my seat, super excited about what was going to happen later. It had been hard, keeping this a secret from Bella. But the secret wasn't just mine. Bella's friends and family had also been keeping it from her. If I blew it now, I'd be letting everyone down.

"Alice Cullen."

And I didn't want to let everyone down. That would be horrible. I wanted everything to be just perfect. Everyone had spent way to long to have this ruined.

"Alice Cullen!"

The girl behind me timidly tapped my shoulder and pointed ahead of us. Oh, crap! It was my turn to walk across the stage and receive my diploma. Well, I thought. Here goes nothing!

**Rosalie**

Gross. The guy behind me was standing way too close to me. I could feel his warm breath on the back of my neck. I could smell his sweat.

"Hey! Back off!" I turned around and told him. A few teachers looked at me disapprovingly, but hey, at least I got what I wanted.

**Bella**

I'd been kind of spacing out during the rest of graduation ceremony, till Alice nudged me in the ribs.

"Turn your tassel over!" she whispered, and I hurriedly followed her instructions. A few more speeches were made, the choir sang, and then the air was heavy with graduation caps. Angela turned to me with a happy smile, then glanced at my hands, still clutching my cap.

"Why didn't you throw yours?" she asked, head tilted slightly to the side. Her cheeks were flushed and she looked more cheerful than I'd seen her in ages. I was sure she was looking forward to college a lot. She'd been so worried she wouldn't get accepted to any of the colleges she had applied to, but then just last week, a letter had come from Cornell. She'd been a ball of nervous energy ever since.

"I wanted to keep it." I replied, fingering the stiff, square edges of the hat. "As a memento, you know? I'm going to miss this place."

Angela smiled and pulled me into a hug. "I'm going to miss you."

I hugged her back tightly. Angela had always been one of the nicest people I knew. She had been so accepting of me when I first moved to Forks. And being in her presence was definitely more soothing than being with Alice and Rosalie.

As if they had heard my thoughts, my two best friends appeared, pulling me away. I looked over my shoulder and mouthed 'I'll call you' at Angela. I was pulled quickly through the crowd, stumbling over my feet. When we reached the parking lot, they slowed down.

"Where are you guys taking me?" I asked, slightly out of breath. Alice gave Rosalie an excited look, biting her lip, and Rosalie slightly shook her head, as if telling her no. I knew that some kind of silent communication had just taken place. Alice's face fell and I frowned.

"What is it?" I asked, suddenly feeling uncomfortable. What was going on that they weren't telling me?

"Nothing." Rosalie said, her face blank. She nodded over my shoulder, looking at something behind me. "Look, there are your parents." she said. I turned and looked over my shoulder, temporarily distracted. Charlie and Renee beamed at me, walking quickly to where I stood with my friends. I smiled back at them and hugged them both. Alice cleared her throat and I looked at her and Rosalie, who was impatiently tapping the toe of her doubtlessly expensive heels. I raised my eyebrows.

"We're going to take off for a little bit Bella, but we'll meet you at your house later." Alice chirped. She grabbed Rosalie's hand and tried to tow her away, but unlike me, Rose glided. She did not stumble along as if she had no center of gravity, the way I did. I watched enviously.

"Oh, okay." I said quietly to their retreating forms. They sure were acting weird.

After the ceremony, Charlie and Renee took me out to dinner and gave me a beautiful golden locket, obviously an antique or heirloom, with their pictures inside as a graduation gift. I held it in my hand, watching as the dim light of the restaurant glinted off of it. It really was beautiful. It was simple and understated but unique. I loved it.

"So you don't forget what we look like." Charlie joked. He stood up and fastened it around my neck. Renee smiled in approval.

"It suits you, honey."

When we got back home I changed out of my nice graduation clothes into much more comfortable jeans and a t-shirt. I pulled my long hair into a high pony tail, noting that it needed to be cut, and then joined my parents in Charlie's living room. They asked me about what I planned on doing this summer, if I was excited about starting college next semester, and Renee asked if I was hoping I'd meet someone. Charlie frowned but kept his mouth tightly clenched, arms folded over his chest. He'd never liked the idea of me dating. Luckily for him, I hadn't met anyone I had liked enough to even consider dating here in Forks. For a while, my friend Jacob kept making advances, but after a while he gave up when he realized I only wanted to be friends.

"I'm pretty excited about just hanging out around here this summer. I figure I'll catch up on my reading, pack and repack all the stuff for my dorm, and generally just obsess over the fact that I'm going to college." I shrugged. "You know me. I'll keep pretty quiet, be really boring."

Charlie and Renee shot each other furtive glances.

"Well, that sounds very nice, honey. I'm glad you didn't make any major plans." Renee's face was struggling not to smile, and I could see the excitement glittering in her pale blue eyes.

"What's going-"

"Door!" Renee bolted out of her chair at the sound of the door bell and I sighed, slouching back into my seat. I looked at Charlie, feeling weary. He smiled sheepishly.

"Now Bella, remember that your mother means well…"

Alice danced into the room, followed by Renee and Rosalie. Alice had changed out of her formal clothes and into something more casual, and definitely more trendy. She looked like she had just stepped off the pages of a fashion magazine- that is, if you shrunk all of the models down to be only five feet tall. My pixie-like friend was clad in form-fitting navy blue pants, a blue and white horizontally striped shirt, and red scarf. The whole ensemble was very cute and nautical, especially on her. I'd never be caught dead in something like that, but she always pulled it off.

Rosalie had changed too. She was now dressed in one of her sexy weekend dresses. This one was bright red, stretchy and skin tight, super short, and showed quite a bit of cleavage. At the end of her mile long legs was a pair of spiky high heels. Normally, I would have said it was tacky to show off all the goods at once, but with a figure like Rosalie's, it was quite the contrary. I think I had a little bit of a girl crush on her once. No, I'm not gay. But if I was, I'd totally be drooling all over Rosalie. She felt it was her civic duty to look as good as possible at all times, and I had to admit, she did a good job of it. That, and I was kind of afraid of her. Whatever she said, I generally agreed with- even if I didn't. Rose was born in boots, and they were made for walking, if you catch my drift.

Alice sat on the edge of my arm-chair and crossed her legs, clasping her hands around her knees daintily. Rosalie just stood there, looking bored and beautiful. She crossed her arms over her chest and sighed, blue eyes directed toward the ceiling. Alice's excited expression matched Renee's, and Charlie wouldn't meet my gaze.

"Bella, I know that you planned on staying here in boring old Forks all summer, wasting away under a pile of books, but your family and I think that you need to have a little bit of fun before you run off to college. You should celebrate this achievement, right? So, we were thinking, how about a little get-away?"

I looked at my parents in panic. The way Alice said that, it sounded like her idea of a 'little' get away would be very expensive.

"Alice, I don't really want to do anything expensive…" I hedged. I also didn't want Renee or Charlie paying for this. Neither of them was rich by any means. Alice rolled her eyes at me. She just didn't see money as an object. She probably wanted to pay for the whole thing, but I just didn't feel comfortable accepting things like that from her, even though her family was extremely wealthy. Her father, once a very successful doctor, now owned and operated an entire hospital. Her mother was a very successful, upscale interior designer. She was responsible for some of the nicest hotel interiors in the country. It was easy to tell where Alice had gotten her artistic flair. With all of their money, the Cullen's had lavished their three children with the best things that money could buy. Alice had a wardrobe full of designer clothes, her twin brother Edward was apparently attending a very ritzy private school for the gifted, and she'd told me that her older brother Emmett's taste for expensive cars was insatiable.

"Don't be silly Bella. It won't cost a thing, for anyone. My family owns a yacht and my brother Emmet offered to take me out on it for a few days as a graduation gift, and I want you and Rosalie to come with me. It'll be so much fun!" she squealed.

I studied her and my parents. It actually didn't sound too bad. At least it wasn't a summer long stay in Europe or something. I thought I could handle a few days on a boat.

"I don't know…" I answered slowly. "When would we go? I'd need to make sure I have everything ready." I was a little paranoid about not being prepared.

"Oh, don't worry. You have plenty of time. Emmet didn't want us to meet him there for-" she checked the thin silver watch on her wrist. "two more hours. That'll be plenty of time for us to get there."

What? Had she really said two hours? As in today? This afternoon? Had she lost her mind? "Have you lost your mind?!" I asked, voicing my thoughts. "I can't possibly get everything ready that soon. I haven't packed, I haven't told any of my friends I'm going anywhere, I- I just can't be ready that soon!"

"Bella, seriously, just chill." Rosalie instructed. "Do you really think Alice would leave any of that to chance? She already bought you over a weeks worth of clothes for the trip, she told all of your friends at school and told them not to tell you, she even got your parents in on it. It's handled. All you need to do is say okay."

I took in a deep breath. I couldn't believe this was happening. I mean, most of me was thrilled, but I was also still in shock. How had everyone kept this from me? They must have gone to a lot of work to keep this a secret. A nice little outing on a boat sounded kind of nice. Time to spend with my two best friends before we all went to different schools, clean fresh air, a change of pace. Who knows, maybe this would even be a little bit of an adventure for me.

I heaved in a deep breath and smiled at everyone. "Okay."

_Author's Note: Hi again! Thanks for reading, and I really appreciate any kind of review. I try to respond to all of them!_

_Next chapter- everyone meets, and there are certainly sparks!_


	2. Underwear

_Author's Note: Hey everyone! Thanks for reviewing! Here's the next chapter, just like I promised. A warning to the younger readers: This chapter contains explicit language. The content from here on out is not suitable for children, but I do think the rating is appropriate. If anything adult or raunchy is going to happen, I'll tell you first. I don't want to be responsible for teaching anyone any new words though. If you believe you are old enough and mature enough, please continue on. Nothing awful awaits you, I swear._

_Without further ado, I hope you enjoy the story!_

**_Last Time..._**

**__**

A nice little outing on a boat sounded kind of nice. Time to spend with my two best friends before we all went to different schools, clean fresh air, a change of pace. Who knows, maybe this would even be a little bit of an adventure for me.

I heaved in a deep breath and smiled at everyone. "Okay."

**Alice**

I had spent hours packing all of my necessities into my big, trendy, Coach suitcase. It had been so hard deciding what to bring. I mean, I hardly knew what we would be doing, but I kept getting these really strong feelings that I might meet my soul mate. I wanted to be prepared. I wished I knew what he looked like though. You can tell a lot about a person by how they look. No, that's not right. I mean that you can read a person by how they dress. If he was wearing worn tennis shoes and a fanny pack, for example, I would instantly know this wasn't the guy for me. If he was clean cut and had a friendly face, well, that I could work with.

I was very proud of myself. I had only packed the essentials. Stuffed in my bag I had several pairs of panty hose, my cutest lingerie, a sexy dress, a sun dress, a sweater dress, a cashmere sweater, capri's, shorts, a bathing suit, three pairs of jeans, four tank tops, five adorable t-shirts, a sparkly sequined top, and a formal gown, because hey, you just never know. I also had a jumbo bottle of mint chamomile shampoo and conditioner, herbal soaps, tampons, sunscreen, a wide brimmed hat, a pocket mirror and a medium sized mirror, scented candles for setting the mood with my soul mate (should I meet him), a lighter, my huge purse, my medium sling bag, and my clutch. But I felt like I was forgetting something… Although, that was probably for the best. I already had to sit on my suitcase in order to get it closed.

Now, all I had to do was help Bella pack up the rest of her things. She didn't realize it yet, but she was lucky that I did all the shopping for our little voyage. Her sense of style was atrocious. She'd thank me later.

**Rosalie**

Yeah, I'd known about the trip since the beginning. Don't patronize me. Maybe I _like_ packing at the last minute. It's not like it's that hard. It's not some sacred art, the way Alice treats it.

I grabbed a suitcase and set it on my bed, looking at it with a hand on my hip. Hmm, what to bring, what to bring… I threw open my closet and picked a few things randomly. Low rise jeans, check. Sexy black cleavage bearing top, check. Sexy red cleavage bearing top, check. There was definitely a pattern to my clothing. The suitcase still looked pretty empty, so I threw in a tight pair of capri's, two sundresses, and an armful of sexy lingerie. I also threw in a jumbo box of condoms, because you just never know.

Some people think I'm vain and stuck up. I _know_ I'm vain and stuck up. I also know that I'm young and beautiful, and I might as well use what I have to my advantage while I still have it. I don't have a great personality. I've never met a guy who wanted to hang around and talk after I'd put out. I knew I wasn't super smart like Bella. The only classes I aced were the ones taught by men. But I wasn't stupid, either. I knew that this thing I had going for me was temporary. I was using my looks to their fullest advantage, hoping that somehow I could provide some sort of a life for myself later, once I was old and wrinkly and not attractive anymore.

I was readying myself to be ugly.

I wanted to make sure I could take care of myself, once nobody wanted to take care of me anymore. It's a dog eat dog world out there. I closed my trunk and clicked the little latch in place, then carried it out of my room. Alice was impatiently waiting for me downstairs, rifling through the fridge.

"You don't have any food in this house!" She yelled, not realizing I could hear her perfectly fine. I walked down toward her.

"Yeah, I know." I agreed.

"Don't your parents ever grocery shop?" she asked, slamming the fridge door shut.

"No." I replied. Of course they didn't. I was lucky if they even came home. "Ready to go?"

**Bella**

Rose sat on my bed flipping through a magazine while Alice helped me pack the things I wanted to take with me. We would be going on a nice, relaxing week long trip on her brother's boat- er, yacht- making stops at some of the harbors. I had insisted on seeing the things that Alice had packed for me to bring, and now I was glad I had.

"Fishnet stockings?" I asked, deeply confused and a little bit irritated. "Why in the world would I need fishnets? I'm going on a boat, not downtown to some sleazy bar!"

"What?" snapped Rosalie, her voice irritated and dangerous. I looked at her in confusion, then noted that she was wearing fishnets. Great.

"Wow Rose, those look really good, actually. You proved me wrong." I said, trying as hard as I could to sound sincere. As a sign of faith I threw them back into my suitcase. Oh well. Just because I packed them didn't mean I actually had to _wear_ them.

Alice did not seem to be a very practical packer, although I appreciated that she had gone shopping and to such great lengths for me. But why in the world would I ever need a formal gown? I tossed that aside. Stiletto's? Did she know me at all? I could just picture myself wobbling around a boat deck in those things and then falling overboard. No way. They met the 'no go' pile with a swish. I came upon something truly bizarre and had to actually have Alice explain it to me. She had packed a long, floor length brown leather duster jacket. The only place I had ever seen anything this over the top was on tv. Normal people like me did not wear such things

"But what if you get cold?" Alice whined, begged, and pleaded. "What if it rains? Look, it has a hood! And it's water resistant! That is real, Italian leather."

"All the more reason I shouldn't bring it. I'll just end up ruining it, Alice, and you spent too much money on it." I tossed it into the pile of things not to take. Alice picked it up as if it were something precious and fragile and cradled it in her arms, a wounded look in her kohl rimmed eyes. With a sigh and a deep feeling of regret, I took it from her and put it back in my suitcase. "Okay!" I sighed. Alice's face lit up and I began to wonder if that whole thing had been an act. I was not getting very far with this unpacking thing.

More ridiculous clothes joined the pile, which steadily grew larger and larger. How had Alice even fit this many clothes into a suitcase? I was coming to the bottom of it, almost done with my sorting, when I came upon a pile of things that were lacy and silky. My cheeks burst into flame as I pulled out a dark bluish green lace bra with sheer cups. I held it looped around one finger, afraid to let it touch me.

"What are these for?" I asked, feeling embarrassed. "No, never mind. I know what they're for. But why do you think I would need such sexy lingerie? Did you plan on me losing my virginity on this little expedition or something?"

Alice and Rosalie looked aghast at each other, obviously confused. "I don't understand…" began Rose, rifling though the lacy under things. "I don't see anything wrong with these. They look like normal old underwear to me. Not something you'd have _sex_ in." She pulled out a black lace thong and smiled. "Okay, maybe this one. But don't worry, I'm taking it off your hands." Rose stuffed the offending garment into her little clutch. That would be fun the next time she needed something out of it. Where are my mints? Oh, they're under my _thong. _

"Bella, these aren't sexy at all. They're just normal bras and panties, really." Alice argued. She really did look a little lost and confused.

"Do you mean to say you wear these sorts of things day to day?" I asked in disbelief. Alice and Rose shot each other perplexed looks.

"What do _you_ wear?" They asked simultaneously, brows furrowed together. Embarrassed, I lifted up my t-shirt, revealing my rather flat chest concealed by a gray sports bra. I opened my top drawer and pulled out a few pairs of underwear, showing them the cotton under things with the little flowers on them that I bought in six packs.

"Normal underwear, like these." I defended myself, feeling thoroughly embarrassed. I had just shown my boobs to my two best friends. I mean, admittedly, they were covered, but still. I felt exposed, and also like I didn't measure up. Alice didn't have big boobs either, but she was so tiny. It suited her waifish figure. And Rose…. Well, Rose's boobs were full and perfect and pushed up and exposed so everyone could see. Next to my two stunning friends, I had often felt overshadowed and ugly, but never this much.

"Bells, you're eighteen." declared Rosalie. "It's time you start wearing your big girl panties." Alice nodded along, arms crossed over her chest. She handed me a silky pinkish beige bra with ivory lace and pointed me toward the bathroom.

"Go try one on and see if you don't like it." she instructed. I wanted to argue, but they both looked very set on this. Fine, I'd try it on. But after that, I'd just go back to wearing the old reliables. I walked into my bathroom and locked the door, not wanting either of them to barge in on me. I pulled off my shirt and looked at my reflection. God, I was so boring. Long, limp brown hair. Ordinary brown eyes. Pale skin. Too skinny body, not enough curves, too long of a neck.

I took off my ugly, comfortable sports bra and put on the new, pretty one. Or at least I tried to. I'd never actually worn a real bra before. I'd moved out of Renee's house before I had hit puberty, and Charlie had certainly never shown me this. Heck, he wouldn't even pick up tampons for me if he was stopping by the store.

I fumbled around with the little closure for a while, trying to reach around far enough behind me. With a groan and immense irritation, I pulled my arms out of the straps and put it on backward, clasping it in the front, then pulling it around till the closure was in the back where it belonged. I put my arms through the straps and adjusted it a little, then looked at my reflection.

Wow. Maybe I did have boobs. I mean, sort of. Nothing like Rosalie's of course, but nothing to scoff at. I'd always heard that the right underwear could make all the difference, but I didn't know that included me. Suddenly, I had decent sized breasts. Admittedly, they were a little on the small side, but they looked so much better. Having that support and something dainty instead of constricting around my chest also made me look like I had a better figure. I still didn't have a full hourglass figure, and I was still just as skinny as before, but at least now my body didn't look like a boys.

I pulled my hair out of it's ponytail and mussed it, trying to make it look a little fuller. It was just too straight and long to get sexy, movie-star volume though. But, at least it was shiny and healthy and smooth. I needed to count my blessings and stop being so negative. I was a pretty enough girl, though a bit on the plain side. I had two amazing best friends. I had gotten accepted into college, and now I was going on a yacht for a week. Put into perspective, my problems were pretty miniscule.

Pulling my shirt back on, I emerged from the bathroom.

"Okay, okay." I conceded. "I'll keep them."

**-- --- -- --- --- -- **

The three of us piled our luggage into Rose's yellow jeep and we quickly took off. Rosalie drove, Alice sat in the passenger seat, and I sat in the back, feeling like a little kid about to go to Disney Land. I was actually really excited. I had never liked surprises, I hated them in fact, but this was a good one. Graduation had been great, and now I was having a girls week with my two best friends. And her brother. I didn't think that would really be a problem though. From what I'd heard about Emmet, he was a fun, laid-back guy who was plenty entertained just steering his father's prized yacht. Men, I thought with a sigh.

It wasn't long before we reached the coast and pulled up to the Cullen's dock. I looked at their yacht in surprise. It was even nicer than I had been expecting. It was long and sleek, with a shiny white finish. I could see the woodwork gleaming on the deck. I followed Alice and Rose in awe up to the boat. Emmet greeted us with friendly smiles, a captains hat on his curly dark hair. I fought back the urge to roll my eyes.

"Baby sis!" he called, scooping Alice up into a bear hug. Alice had told me about him before, but her description most certainly did not do him justice. He was twenty five and a full time fire fighter. He was seriously built- tall, muscular, and tan. He had curly brown hair, mirthful brown eyes that crinkled at the edges when he smiled, and a happy looking face. In short, Alice's brother was hot. I could tell Rosalie agreed. She crossed her arms over her chest, subtly pushing her boobs up a little bit higher, blue eyes focused on him, waiting for an introduction.

After releasing Alice from his hug, Emmet took in the sight of me and Rose. He gave me a perfunctory smile and nod, then met Rose's smoldering gaze with a grin.

"I'd be careful in those heels if I were you." he cautioned Rose, giving her legs a long look. Her glossy lips quirked slightly upward and she put a hand on her hip.

"Oh, don't worry. I have plenty of experience. I won't fall overboard." she assured him. He laughed.

"I'm not worried about you falling overboard, princess." he said, smirking. " I just don't want you scratching these wooden floors I just waxed."

Rose's jaw fell open slightly, then snapped shut. She gave him a deadly glare and stormed off, grabbing Alice's hand and tugging her along in the direction of the cabin, away from Emmet. I looked at him in shock, now left alone with him.

"You have no idea who you're messing with." I told him, still stunned. He laughed again.

"It's okay. I've dealt with plenty of girls like her before." he assured me, and walked toward the captains wheel, head thrown back in laughter. He appeared to be very amused with the whole situation.

I walked toward the cabin where I had seen Alice and Rosalie disappear. I carefully made my way down the flight of stairs where I assumed our room would be. There was a long hall with several doors. One of them was slightly cracked open. That must be room I'm looking for, I thought.

I came upon it and pulled the door open with my free hand, my other one still holding my heavy suitcase.

"You can just leave my bags in here." I heard a voice call. A voice that most certainly wasn't female. I was about to backtrack, not wanting to meet this guy who must've thought I was someone else. I hadn't even realized there would be anyone else on the boat. I was backing up toward the door when the most handsome person I had ever seen emerged from the adjoining bathroom, drying his hands with a small towel. He nodded toward the bed. "You can just set them down there. I don't need any more help today."

I looked at him in confusion, my brow furrowed, my mouth refusing to work. He was just so attractive. Who was this god-like vision?

"Come on, what's the matter with you? I said you can set them down. That's all." he said, voice gruff, irritation reading on his face. Now I understood. He thought I was some kind of maid or servant or something. But he was being so rude! How dare he use that kind of tone with me? Even if I had worked for him, he shouldn't have been talking to me like that.

"Excuse me?" I asked, holding on tightly to my suitcase. He walked up to me, impatience in his green eyes, and tried to take my suitcase from me. I didn't let go of it. "Stop!" I yelled at him. "This is mine!"

He let go of it suddenly and I fell backward, suitcase landing at his feet, and me landing on my butt and scraping my elbow. It stung, and I looked up at him in disbelief. "Who the hell do you think you are?" I asked him. He glared back at me.

"Me? Who do you think _you_ are? This is _my _family's boat, and _that_" he said, kicking my suitcase. "Is _my_ luggage."

I pulled it toward me and he took the handle and pulled it toward him, both of us jerking it in a strange game of tug of war. The suitcase, under too much pressure, released and broke open. My clothes fell out, all of my silky underwear and lacy bras floating to the ground. My eyes widened and so did his, and we simultaneously let go of the suitcase. He fell to the floor, gathering my clothes, but dutifully staying away from my underwear.

"I'm _so_ sorry," he said, not meeting my eye. "I thought this was my bag. I didn't realize…" he left off.

"I'm a friend of Alice. I'm staying on the yacht with her this week." I informed him angrily, stuffing my bras and panties into my suitcase, my cheeks burning in embarrassment. The nerve of him, I thought.

"I'm Edward, Alice's brother. I didn't know she was going to be on the yacht too." he told me, sounding apologetic. I was far too irritated with this guy, attractive as he may be, to be soothed by his apology.

"Yeah, well now you know." I said, closing the suitcase and stomping out, leaving Edward standing there just as embarrassed as me, and slightly more confused.

**Rosalie**

What a jerk. What a stupid, _fucking _asshole. The nerve of that guy. How dare he talk to me like that? No man over the age of twelve and under the age of sixty had ever done anything but swoon at the sight of me. And not one had ever talked to me like that.

Oh, he would regret it. And to think, I had even been flirting with him! I felt very irritated with myself. Whenever I saw a good-looking man, I couldn't help it. I turned my game up. I needed to learn. Good looking guys were trouble, and boy was he hot. I had never met a man that was so sexy. He was just so tall, and muscular, and those dimples he got when he smiled. I wanted to run my fingers through his curls and then rake them against his back. No, I warned myself. This train of thought would get me nowhere fast.

I needed to find myself a nice, ugly, rich guy who wanted a trophy girlfriend. That kind of man would never hurt me, at least while my figure held out. The minute my boobs started to sag or I stopped working out every day though, I'd have to make a new plan.

"Your brother is the biggest dick in the universe." I told Alice, after slamming the door shut to our cabin. I threw myself on the bed and sighed in frustration. "He is going to regret the day he met Rosalie Hale."

Alice kept her mouth shut and started unpacking.

**Alice**

I had been so excited to see Emmet. Why did he have to go and ruin things off the bat with Rosalie? It's like he knew the exact wrong thing to say to her, too. I could tell she liked him, or that she _had_. I had seen that look in her eyes before, the one that said 'I've spotted my prey.' And while I didn't exactly like the idea of my best friend banging my big brother, anything would have been better than her being irritated with him. Rose was no fun at all when she was in a mood, and now she was royally pissed off.

Suddenly, being trapped on a boat with them for a week did not sound like a good idea at all. What had I been thinking? And where in the world was Bella?

**Edward**

I stood there, still staring at the door, my mouth agape. What the hell had just happened? Had I really just made a huge ass of myself with a beautiful stranger I'd be isolated on a yacht with for a week?

How in the world had I mistaken her for staff? If an angel like her had been working my father's yacht, I would have known about it. And I would have made it a point to sail much more often.

What a great start. I closed my eyes, mentally berating myself. I prided myself on being calm, cool, and collected. I tried at all times to be a gentleman, accommodating, yet aloof. I had miserably failed. First, she was probably insulted that I had mistaken her for a cleaning lady or something, then I had implied she was a liar and a thief by claiming that the suitcase was mine, then I had broken the damn thing and scattered her clothes and- I gulped at the thought- very lacy, very silky, very sheer, and most definitely very sexy under garments- all over the floor.

I sat on my bed and cradled my head in my arms, feeling utterly desolate. What a schmuck I was. What an idiot.

Jasper, whom I had met and befriended at the prestigious private school I had attended, calmly walked in, a curious look in his light grey eyes. Though I had only known him for four years, I felt like I had known him my whole life. Besides my brother Emmett, Jasper was my best friend. He was the most easy-going, well-intentioned person I had ever met. Being in his presence always had a soothing effect.

"Is that your bra?" he asked, nudging a lacy black bit of cloth that I hardly thought constituted the term clothing out from under my bed with his foot. It must have gotten under there when the suitcase exploded. I picked it up carefully and dropped it on the bed. Suddenly, I was imagining what Bella must look like in it. Her creamy pale skin, her delicate figure, her graceful neck, her mesmerizing brown eyes…

This was absurd! I was having fantasies about a girl I had just met. A girl I knew nothing about other than her name and that she possessed some very sexy negligee. Jasper cleared his throat, reminding me that he had asked a question.

"Oh, um, no." I stuttered, glancing back at the bra on my bed. "Of course not." I somehow wasn't ready to tell Jasper what had happened yet. It still felt too personal, too embarrassing. "I wonder how it got here." I said, hoping he bought my act.

If he didn't, he made no sign of it. He just sat down in a chair, opened the novel he had been reading, and sat there immersed in his book quietly. Good old Jasper, I thought. It had never bothered me that he was shy and sometimes a little withdrawn. He pulled back a little from most people. I didn't understand why. Everyone who met him liked him. But he has always much preferred staying in and reading to going out. When he did go out, he usually went by himself. I knew that when he disappeared for hours that he was out hiking or taking a walk in the woods behind our school. He was a solitary person. I considered myself lucky that he let me into his little world.

**Emmet**

Blondie was hot, I had to admit. Am I regretting pissing her off? Hell no. If I know anything about sleazy blondes, it's that if you rub 'em the wrong way at first, they'll let you rub them in all the right ways later, if you catch my drift.

I'd have her in no time.

_Author's Note: Please review! I would really appreciate your feedback._


	3. Mayhem

_Author's Note: Oh my goodness, I can't believe all the nice reviews I recieved! Thank you so much to everyone who commented, it really means a lot to me. I tried to respond to everyone's reviews. If I missed you and didn't write anything back, I'm sorry, it was an oversight, not anything personal. The next chapter will probably be out tomorrow. I have a lot of this story already written, so updates should be pretty quick!_

**Alice**

I'd been too fidgety to enjoy my first day onboard the yacht, disturbed by the horrible moods of my roommates. Bella wouldn't tell me what had happened, but I had surmised that Edward was at the root of it. How had both of my brothers managed to so completely ruin the good mood that had been floating over my friends? This was killing my Zen.

Dinner was a fiasco. I have no idea what got into everyone. I sat at the table with Emmett and Edward, across from Rosalie and Bella, hoping to serve as a buffer. Edward had informed the party that his friend Jasper would not be joining us. I thought that was a little weird, but was too distracted by everyone else to really worry about was trying to kill Emmett with her eyes, which were narrowed in disgust and aimed right at him. After seeming to have no effect on him, she actually kicked him under the table- hard. I felt his leg rocket back and hit the wooden bench we were seated on. In response he sweetly smiled at her.

"C'mon sugar. Is that any way to treat the captain?" he asked, a smirk etched into his features.

"If you call me sugar one more time…" Rose warned.

"You'll what?" he taunted, clearly enjoying their little argument. "Glare at me some more?"

Rose's chair screeched out, scratching his wooden floors. She then stood, grabbed the bowl of spaghetti sauce, and overturned it onto his lap, red rivulets streaming down his pants and pooling on the floor. Turning sharply on her heel, Rosalie left without another word.

For a moment no one moved, then Emmett burst out into laughter. "She's a pistol!" he declared, not bothered in the slightest that he was covered in tomato sauce. He stood and it dripped further down him. "I think I've had enough entertainment for one night." he said to us on his way out. "I think I'll go change and count my blessings that she didn't reach for the soup." All of us eyed the steaming server of soup, thinking the same thing: Ouch.

I looked at Edward, shocked by what had happened with our brother.

"That was rude." he said, shaking his head.

Bella nodded. "I know. I can't believe he thinks he can talk to her that way and get away with it!"

"What?" Edward asked, an edge to his voice. "I was talking about your friend dumping that spaghetti sauce on Emmet. I mean, how old is she?"

"Well, maybe if he hadn't of been such a jerk!" Bella argued.

"Maybe she shouldn't have flown off the handle!" Edward retorted, slightly raising his voice.

"Well, maybe he shouldn't have _assumed_ he could call her that!" Bella yelled.

"He wouldn't have assumed, if she hadn't been standing in his room!"

"That does not give him the right to take things that don't belong to him!" she countered.

I was lost. Completely and utterly lost. I had no idea what they were talking about anymore. Edward stood abruptly from his chair and it toppled behind him. He dug something out of his pocket and threw it on the table in front of Bella.

"Here. You left this." he said, and left, an angry scowl on his face. I picked up the thing he had pulled put of his pocket to see what it was. I held a skimpy black brassier in my hands and stared at Bella in confusion.

"I hadn't realized you had already… met." I said quietly. I looked up into Bella's eyes and saw that they were about to spill with angry, frustrated tears. Her mouth was set in a thin line and she didn't say anything. She stood up and fled the dining room, the tears spilling over.

Great. Now what was I supposed to do?

I grabbed Emmet's glass of wine and drained it, in a very uncharacteristic move, and stood, no longer hungry. Besides, I didn't really want to eat by myself.

I left the dining room, but had no desire to go back to my cabin and face Bella and Rosalie. I also didn't want to go to either of my brother's rooms. Emmet was being a pig, and it seemed Edward was not behaving himself either. I was not about to pick sides.

I climbed up the stairs and to the back of the yacht on deck to get some fresh air. It was hard to see in the darkness, but I could make out a tall, thin figure leaning over the railing, peering at the water churning below him. Moonlight painted his skin silver and cast a coolness to his blonde hair. Even in the darkness, I was instantly attracted to this man. He was not conventionally handsome, not the kind of guy I was normally attracted to, but his eyes, so deep and intense, held something. The lines of his face were very serious, a troubled look on his almost beautiful face. He was very tall and thin, but his body had a wiriness about it, and I knew at an instinctual level that this man could be both strong and gentle. He had arms that were made to hold a woman, or to defend her.

"Jasper?" I called, not wanting to startle him. This must be my brother's friend, I thought. He twisted around to look at me, looking surprised to see he was no longer alone. "Are you Jasper?" I asked, coming forward.

He nodded. "Yes, I am." He said quietly. His grey eyes flashed in the moonlight, searching my face curiously.

I smiled at him warmly, trying my hardest to seem charming. I had never had to try to impress people, but it suddenly felt very important that this man like me. Why did I care so much about this stranger? "I'm Alice, Edward's sister." I explained. He nodded again but didn't say anything, though he looked like he wanted to. "You know," I went on. "There's a table full of food in the dining room that never got eaten, and it's probably still warm. I'm actually starting to feel a little hungry. Would you maybe want to join me?"

Nervous butterflies danced in my stomach. Jasper looked embarrassed and averted his brilliant grey eyes from me. "I'm sorry," he told me, letting go of the railing. "I- I have to go."

I looked down, cheeks burning in embarrassment, eyes filling with tears. I'd never felt so rejected before in my life. What had I done wrong? I couldn't meet his eyes but nodded quickly, then took off in the direction of the cabins. In my haste I swung into him, and I could feel his warm hands, his long, sensuous fingers, touch my shoulder and the small of my back, gently righting me, setting me in the right direction. That small amount of contact sent a shiver down my spine, a jolt through my entire body. I wanted so bad for his hands to not leave my body, for his fingers to brush against me again, but I knew they wouldn't. I didn't know him, and already Jasper had made up his mind about me. Alice Cullen was not good enough.

This time, I ran in the right direction, and didn't look back.

**Jasper**

Last night was a disaster. Edward was in a horrible mood and didn't bother to tell me why, though I hardly thought it was my place to ask. When his sister had called through the door in her happy, sing-song voice telling us dinner was ready, I declined. Edward didn't press me. We had a sort of agreement between each other that no questions would be asked. We simply tried to accept each other and each others actions, whatever they might be. If help was needed, it was given. We shared most things with each other, but we also had a comfortable pattern of silence.

The moment I had heard Alice's voice- who I had never seen before but had heard Edward speak of very fondly- something in me felt like it constricted. I was no longer hungry. In fact, I felt like I needed some air. I also didn't want to have to deal with Edwards current problem, which I had a feeling might get worse around everyone else.

After Edward left, I placed my bookmark at my stopping point in Robinson Crusoe. I had already explored the boat, and found the back deck to be the most peaceful area. I was thankfully alone, and took to watching the stars come out and watching the waves break. My reverie in the darkness was broken by a tiny figure calling my name. In the dark I couldn't make out her features, just her silhouette. She was small in stature, and I judged that she must be Alice, who's voice I had heard earlier. Edward had often referred to his twin as a sprite or a dwarf. That surprised me, seeing as Edward and Emmet were both quite tall.

When she came closer I was able to make out more of her features. Pale creamy skin, hazel eyes set in a delicate, heart shaped face. Dark hair that didn't quite reach the shoulders that was very spiky and obviously styled. Alice was not the kind of girl I normally found attractive. I was usually drawn to taller, more natural girls, but Alice had such an aura about her- I could hardly look away to keep from staring. Her face was so open and honest, her eyes sparkled as if she was amused, her lips were turned up in the softest of smiles.

She took my breath away.

I had no idea what to say to her. I barely managed to nod to her. When she asked me to have dinner with her, I did the worst thing possible and rudely declined. It wasn't because I didn't want to be have dinner with her, but the idea of being alone with this- this… goddess- petrified me. I regretted my actions now, but at the time I had felt so flustered. Upon meeting her, I felt like my whole world had flipped over. That little moment was momentous for me. How did this tiny angel have such a strong effect on me?

Now I stood outside in the same spot as last night. It was still fairly early, and I wasn't sure that anyone but me and Edward were awake yet. Edward had taken over steering the yacht while Emmet got some sleep, so I knew I wouldn't be bothered by him. The sun rising in the sky over the ocean turned the water and the heavens shades of pink and orange. The sun's reflection on the water was bright, and for now it looked as if the world was mirrored.

I wasn't sure why I chose to come back to the scene of the crime. I simultaneously feared that she would find me here, and also hoped that she would. I wanted to apologize to her and make amends. Actually, the carnal side of me, which I kept very well suppressed, wanted to do a whole lot more than that. Since the night before when she had stumbled into me in her haste to get away, I felt like a different person. That one little touch had me hooked. It had been so innocent- just me reaching out to steady her, an instinct, a reaction. But the feel of her soft body, the warmth of her skin beneath her thin blouse, had sent a shock of sensation through me. That little touch had kept me awake all night. I wanted to take her in my arms and leave a trail of searing kisses anywhere her skin was exposed. I wanted to push her up against a wall and make love to her in the warm, salty breeze. But since I had said little more than two or three words to her, I knew these actions would be very inappropriate and would probably cause Edward to be very cross with me.

Still, I could be a gentleman and not ravage her upon first sight. I needed to apologize to her for being so rude. I still had a week left with her on this boat. Maybe if I tried to make things right, she would forgive me and I could try to get to know her better. Seeing as she was my best friends sister, this probably would not be the last time I saw her. At least, I certainly hoped not.

I heard a soft shuffle, then a quick pattering behind me. I turned, hoping and fearing and dreading that it would be her, but it wasn't. The deck stretched out just as empty as before and I felt more alone than I ever had. As a solitary person, I had rarely _needed_ the presence of another person. Why now did I want company? No, I reminded myself. It wasn't as if any company would do. I wanted her, and preferably in my arms. Her lithe figure, so tiny yet soft and feminine, looked like it would fit perfectly against me. I could cradle her in my arms or easily pick her up off the ground for a kiss.

No, no I couldn't. I had ruined my chances with her last night. She probably thought I was the worlds biggest jerk, and I honestly couldn't blame her. Did I fear rejection so much that I had to push away anything good that came to me? Maybe that was it. I didn't even bother to get to know most people, much less form any kind of relationship with them. The closest friend I had was Edward, but we were so much alike, it wasn't hard to be his friend. He understood about being alone. How it could be lonely, but also safe. He understood my silences and the volumes that they spoke sometimes.

Maybe-- maybe if he could understand, she could too…

Maybe.

**Bella**

No one was in any mood to talk. I understood why Rosalie was so pissed off, but what was wrong with Alice? I kept asking her, but she kept telling me she was fine. I _knew_ she wasn't fine. She had burst into the room the night before glassy eyed and pale and hadn't said a word. It wasn't like Alice to keep things hidden, especially from me and Rose. That got me worried. Was it something really bad? I had pressed her, but to no avail. Eventually, when some of the shock seemed to wear off of her, she plastered on a fake smile and tried to change the subject.

She chose a bad subject though. "Why did Edward have your bra?" she had asked. I glared at her and we both didn't ask any more questions. The three of us moved to our separate bunks and laid there in silence half the night, struggling to fall asleep.

Now it was morning, and the three of us silently refused to leave the room. My stomach growled loudly and I groaned. "Guys, this is ridiculous. Let's just go out there, have some breakfast, and enjoy the boat till we reach a port." I was too hungry to deal with them moping around. Besides, it was way too weird seeing Rosalie mope at all. Normally she was so take charge- Emmet must have really hit a nerve.

She looked at me and frowned, then sighed and looked out the window. "I'm not hungry." she said. She was still in her pajamas with no makeup on, a very strange occurrence for her. Normally she got fully dressed and made up the moment she woke up. She was awake even before I was. I wondered if she had gone to bed at all. In pajama pants and a tank top, no makeup, her hair in a ponytail, she almost looked more beautiful. She looked softer, less intimidating. I'd never tell her that though. She liked the fear and anxiety she caused when people were exposed to the full effect of her stunning good looks.

"It's okay, Bella." said Alice, hopping up from her bed. "I'll come with you and show you where the kitchen is." She at least seemed to be in better spirits. She had gotten up bright and early this morning, gotten dressed in a cute little sun dress, and left the room. She hadn't been gone long though, and when she returned, she looked chagrined, and also like she had made up her mind about something. She appeared to be very resolute. This version of Alice, though a bit odd, was much preferred to be one the night before.

She led me down the hall to where the dining room was, then through the door at the back of that room to the kitchen. It was small but very high tech and efficient. Everything was stainless steel and streamlined. I felt like I was in the kitchen of tomorrow. Alice pulled open the door of the huge refrigerator and we both peered inside. It was packed with more food than I thought necessary for six people for a week. Most of it looked like complete, already cooked gourmet meals that only needed to be heated. Someone had gone to a lot of trouble stocking this ship, and I knew it wasn't any of the Cullen's. They had to have paid a lot for all of this assistance.

Alice and I each had a glass of orange juice. She had a bowl of already cut fruit, and I hungrily inhaled a blueberry muffin, feeling like a pig next to my tiny friend eating her fruit. I was still hungry and decided to fry some bacon for the two of us. Alice got bored with being in the kitchen and left, but I was fine with that, plenty entertained with all of the gadgets and gizmos of the galley.

The bacon sizzled in the pan and I turned each piece over, then leaned against the countertop, waiting patiently as it slowly fried. The door swung open and Edward walked in. He saw me and we both froze. During the night I had replayed all of our interactions from the day before, and added in what I wished I had done. Sometimes the fantasies ended with me slapping him, sometimes with them two of us in a passionate torrent, him kissing me, me kissing him, both our clothing in a state of disarray. However, none of my fantasies had done him justice. He was much more beautiful in person. My memories hadn't quite captured the brilliant color of his bottle green eyes, or the reddish copper tint to his dark brown hair.

I also hadn't remembered how angry the mere sight of him made me.

"What do you want?" I snapped, turning back to my bacon. I angrily shoved it around the pan, not looking at him. If I looked at him, I knew I'd only swoon.

"Excuse me? I think I'm standing in the kitchen of _my _boat."I glared at him. "You mean your family's boat? The last time I checked, _you _weren't the one who paid for this. You're just enjoying the benefits of rich parents."

"And you're just enjoying the benefits of rich friends!" He retorted angrily.

"What are you saying?" I asked, rounding on him. He crossed his arms over his chest and looked at me pointedly.

"I didn't choose to have rich parents, but you chose to have rich friends. Maybe you're just using Alice."

"How dare you!" I yelled. "I love Alice. I don't care about how much money her family's got! I'm offended that you'd even try to imply that I use her for my own personal benefit!"

He looked me over shrewdly and gestured toward my shorts and tank top. "Who bought those clothes you're wearing?" he asked.

I stared at him in open mouthed shock, speechless.

"Yeah, that's what I thought." he said coldly, and walked out the door. The fire alarm went off and I turned around to see my bacon burnt and blackened. I turned the fire off and waved the broom around the smoke detector, trying to clear the smoke out of the room. The alarm stopped and I sighed in relief, dropping into a chair in the corner, exhausted.

**Edward**

The door swung behind me and I leaned against the wall. I heard the fire alarm going off, then the sounds of Bella shuffling around. The alarm stopped after a moment and I felt relieved that I hadn't had to go back in there.

Why was I so stupid? Did I have no self control? I had meant to be nicer today, to try to get off to a better start. How had I let her rile me up so quickly? She managed to infuriate me like no other. I felt bad though. I didn't really think she was friends with Alice for her money. That had been a low blow in response to her jibe about my parent's money. Bella didn't seem like the kind of person to take advantage of her friends. Alice was generous and probably got more out of buying Bella new clothes than Bella did. And she wasn't stupid. Alice would know if she was being taken advantage of.

So why had I been such a prat? She certainly knew how to illicit a response from me. Some part of me kind of felt good that I could get such a reaction from Bella. The way her eyes danced when she was angry, the flush of her cheeks, that cute little line that formed between her eyes, were all signs that I had an affect on her. If only it wasn't a _negative _affect, but I could work on that later.

The next time I saw her, I thought, making my way to the deck where Emmet was steering, I was going to apologize and show her I wasn't such a jerk. I clapped Emmet on the shoulder and looked at the ocean stretching around us for as far as the eye could see.

"Having fun, Emmet?" I asked my big brother. His reaction was not what I expected. He looked at me with an intense frown.

"I'm afraid not. I've been listening to the radio reports, and we're about to hit a hurricane. I'm trying to steer us around it, but the wind could shift and we'd be right in the middle of it."

"But it's so clear and bright! There are hardly any clouds in the sky." I said skeptically.

He shrugged. "It's always calmest before the storm." Emmet replied cryptically.

**Rosalie **

I hadn't left the room all day. I didn't want to chance running into that _pig _Emmet Cullen. He had to be the biggest ass hole I had ever met. I didn't want to see him again till I had the perfect course of action in mind. I had _never _avoided someone like this. It was not me at all. When someone was on my bad side, they always had the good sense to stay clear of _me, _not the other way around.

So why was I still in here, watching the rain hit the window?

Little had been said between Alice, Bella and me. A very morose feeling had settled over the three of us. We all looked out the window at the sudden downpour that now beat against the glass. It had come out of nowhere, but it didn't look like it was going anywhere fast.


	4. Hurricane

_Author's Note: Thank you so much for the reviews you left last chapter, they were really nice and helpful. Tonight is date night and I'm going to to see Twilight with my honey, but have no fear: The chapter for tommorow is all written. Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy this chapter and check back tomorrow for the next one! _

_**Emmet**_

The reports of the hurricane we had just entered did not sound good. The force of the wind was sending us farther and faster than I could keep track of. I was no longer sure of our location, and I couldn't seem to find a port anywhere to take cover. Out on a yacht was not a good place to be when you were headed right into the eye of the storm.

I stood out in the pouring rain, water washing off my rain slicker in sheets. I could barely make out the voices on the radio that was attached to my hip, but I knew they were just warning all fishermen to take cover. A mass warning was going out, and my father's yacht wasn't built for these conditions. A huge wave crashed against the side of the yacht and sent a flood of water on deck. The water pooled around my feet, then lessened as it went to where the cabins were located. Where my baby sister and her friends were.

**Alice**

I huddled under my blanket with my eyes tightly closed as lightning crashed in the distance and thunder rumbled around us. Bella moved to my bed and put a reassuring arm around me shoulder, gently rocking me like a child.

"It's going to be fine." Bella reassured me. "It's just a little rain. It'll be over soon."

Something crashed against the boat and the whole cabin shook. I burrowed deeper under my quilt and whimpered. I hated this. I hated being so afraid, but I had always been petrified at the sound of lightning. The way my parents sheltered me probably didn't help, either. No one had ever told me to just get over it. Everyone had just held me while I cried myself to sleep.

I could hear a strange noise from outside the cabin, and then water flooded underneath the door. I shrieked and saw Bella and Rosalie draw their feet up. Why was there water down here? Wasn't the water supposed to be out _there_, as in, not in the boat?

"C'mon!" I said, jumping up and stomping through the water that reached between my ankles and knees. "If there's this much water down here, this isn't where I want to be." Bella and Rose nodded in agreement, following closely after me, all of us spurred by fear and uneasy about these conditions. I made for the stairs, going to see what was happening. I reached the top and saw Emmet pulling furiously at the wheel. Edward and Jasper were running to and fro, cutting ropes that went to sails, hair plastered to their faces.

"Emmet!" I cried, throwing my arms around his waist. "What's happening?"

Bella and Rose were standing behind me, already soaked through, looking around, petrified looks on their faces.

"Don't worry Alice, everything's going to be fine!" he shouted above the roar of the wind and rain. Another wave hit the boat and we all stumbled sideways. Everyone managed to catch themselves but Bella, who was being helped up by Jasper. I watched enviously, temporarily forgetting the situation we were in. This morning I had seen him again, but had been too chicken to say anything. I had approached, then run off. Such a baby. But after that, I had resolved to not let this person, who I barely knew, bother me any more. Men were just not worth it. Still, why was he being so helpful to Bella and wouldn't even talk to _me? _When water rolled across the deck and soaked through my shoes, I snapped back to reality. Now was not the time to get jealous.

"Everything doesn't look okay, Emmet!" I yelled, barely able to make myself heard. I looked at him with anxious eyes and he temporarily stopped what he was doing and held both my shoulders in his strong hands, steadying me.

"It's going to be okay." he repeated. "Why don't you go down stairs and wait it out?" he suggested. I fervently shook my head.

"It's flooding down there." I informed him, then something clicked. I grabbed Bella and Rosalie's hands, dragging them down the stairs and into the water that was now almost waist deep.

"What are you doing!" Rosalie yelled, pulling away from me.

"All of our things!" I shouted back, making for our room. "They'll be ruined if we leave them here!"

"They don't matter! Leave them!" called Bella as another wave of water came down toward us. I shook my head frantically and started slowly making my way toward our room. Figuring it would be better to help me than leave me, my two best friends followed. I tried to wrench open the door, but with the force of the water it was impossible to pull open. Rosalie moved in front of me, and with one fluid motion wrenched the door open. She was definitely no wilting flower.

Our suitcases were floating above the water, much to my relief. I was glad now that I hadn't unpacked most of my things. I grabbed my luggage and my friends did the same. I searched around for my plastic makeup train case, pulling open drawers frantically. Another current of water filled the room a few inches higher.

"Alice, we have to get out of here!" Rose shouted, grabbing my wrist and pulling me toward the door. I spotted my train case on top of the desk and wrenched my wrist away, grabbing it. I made sure that Rose and Bella each had their own suitcases, then I led the way back out. It wasn't hard bringing the suitcases up. They were all the boxy kind, and easily floated. We got them up the stairs and pushed them against a wall where they wouldn't easily get swept away.

A bolt of lightning crashed and I dropped to the floor, cradling my head in my arms, covering my ears, the loud sound reverberating in my head. I looked up to see a sail sizzling. It had been hit by the lightning and caught fire, but the rain was quickly putting it out. The wooden mast holding it creaked ominously, then slowly spit in half, falling over. The opposite side of the yacht now had too much weight and the whole boat started tilting, taking on more and more water at an alarming rate.

Bella looked at me in sheer terror, mirroring my own expression, but Rose stood resolute.

"Come on!" she yelled, climbing in the other direction, all of us struggling to stay upright on the steep slope the deck had reached. I had never seen Rosalie like this, but suddenly she was a strong, capable leader. She grabbed all of the life jackets that were hanging on the wall and threw one to each of us, quickly fastening her own on. She didn't stop for long though, and started going back, three more jackets in her arms. Me and Bella followed after her, Bella holding onto the rail tightly to remain standing.

Jasper and Emmet were arguing about something, but I couldn't make it out over the roar of the ocean. I saw Edward cutting the ropes for the life raft furiously. Rose ran to Emmet and Jasper and gave them each a life jacket, then threw one to Edward. He finished sawing through the ropes and the raft came loose. Emmet and Jasper had given up their argument and were helping Edward.

"C'mon Bella, we have to get in the raft!" I yelled. "This boat is about to capsize!"

I hadn't realized this was the reality till I said it, and my eyes grew huge. This boat was going to sink, and I wasn't about to allow me and my friends to go down with it. I made for the raft, miraculously keeping my balance. Bella wasn't so lucky though. I heard a scream, then looked back to see her sliding across the deck. She flew down and my heart almost stopped. She was about to fly over board!

Edward flung out an arm and deftly caught her, pulling her in tightly to his chest, his other hand gripping a hook on the wall for support. The two of them looked at each other in surprise, then sprang apart. Edward and Jasper heaved the raft over board, hanging onto a rope that was attached to it, not allowing it to get away.

"We have to jump!" Edward told every body. I looked down at the water that was quickly rising to meet us. I didn't want to jump. I wasn't a good swimmer and the tides looked deadly.

"I can't!" I yelled back.

"You have to!" Rose yelled, grabbing my shoulders. "You don't have a choice!"

I realized the severity of the situation, and also that my friends and brothers would push me over board if they had to. I darted away from them and they called after me, but I didn't look back. I struggled to climb up the deck, but eventually reached my goal. I grabbed onto my suitcase and sent it down the deck. It slid and ran into the water, landing close to the raft. I did the same with my train case and Rosalie and Bella's luggage, then sat down and slid toward my brothers. Emmet caught me and placed me back on my feet.

"Don't do that again!" he shouted, anger flashing in his eyes. I nodded mutely. He grabbed one of my hands in his and held it firmly in his. "We're going to jump on three!" he yelled. I looked down and saw that the others were already in the water, struggling against the current, water splashing into their eyes, their mouths.

"No!" I yelled back, struggling, terrified. I silently pleaded with him, my eyes huge with fear. "Please, no!""One!" Emmet called, ignoring me.

"Please don't!"

"Two!"

I looked around for something to hold onto, but knew that even if I found a hold, Emmet was still too strong for me.

"What if I can't swim?" I cried, tears streaming down my face, camouflaged by the rain.

"Three!"

Emmet jumped and pulled me with him. The water reached out and grabbed me, and I was pulled under, water filling my mouth and nose.

I was going to die.

**Emmet**

Sometimes Alice could be such a drama queen. I reached out and pulled her up, keeping her head above the water. She spluttered and choked, but she was okay. I held the life raft still for her while she climbed in. With a roll of my eyes I grabbed the suitcases she had insisted on throwing overboard and heaved them into it too. I looked at the others, who were struggling in the rain and the rough torrents, trying to get into the raft.

I have to admit, I was a little bit impressed with the way Blondie had handled herself. Maybe she could take charge and act like a big girl sometimes after all. She'd shown some foresight, getting everyone into life jackets. I looked over at her, bobbing in the water, swimming toward the life raft, helping Bella. Admittedly, she looked pretty hot in a soaking wet t shirt, the water turning it sheer and revealing a rather sexy, rather lacy bra. No one could argue against her beauty. That woman, though infuriating, had breasts that were a miracle. Her figure was proof that there _was _a god.

After everyone had gotten into the life raft and we'd assessed that no one was hurt, I pulled the hip radio out that was attached to my belt. I flipped the on/off switch a few times, but all I got was static, then nothing. The water had ruined it.

The six of us watched in stunned, silent horror as the yacht quickly capsized and sank. It hadn't seemed to take much for it to go from afloat to sunken. I couldn't believe that my family's yacht had gone the way of the titanic. We slowly drifted away, scooping water out of the raft with cupped hands to keep it from filling up, now numb to the rain. We all sat in uncomfortable silence, staring off into space, no one speaking, all of us staring at the dark sky, wiping water out of our faces.

**Bella**

The night had sucked. I don't think any of us had gotten any sleep. It had rained all night, and my teeth were still chattering. Me, Alice, and Rosalie sat on one side of the raft, luggage beside us or on our laps, looking off into the water. Edward, Emmet and Jasper sat opposite from us. It felt like we were two countries at war, except our war was silence, and no one wanted to put up the white flag.

It was now midday. The storm clouds had disappeared and the sun beat down on us. I could feel my face already starting to burn. I rubbed my cheeks uncomfortably.

"Are you getting sunburned?" Alice asked, and I jumped. It was a bit of a shock hearing a human voice after such a long silence.

I shrugged. "Um, yeah. I guess so. But I'll be okay."

Alice pulled her suitcase into her lap and popped the clasp. She dug around and pulled out a bottle of sunscreen and a hat. She put it on my head and I smiled at her. She poured some spf 30 into my hands and I helped her put it on her back and shoulders, and she returned the favor.

"You want some Rose?" I asked, holding up the bottle. She looked at me and shook her head, then stretched out as much as possible, leaning her head back.

"No, I'm working on my tan."

Rolling my eyes, I handed the bottle back to Alice and she put it away. The men across from us watched in silence. I didn't bother offering _them _any. I especially wasn't going to offer anything to Edward.

"I'm so thirsty." moaned Alice, leaning into me for support.

"Why didn't you bother going back for a few water bottles?" sneered Edward, a scowl on his face. "All that you saved were your stupid clothes and… and sunscreen!"

Alice's face fell and she looked down, putting her face in her hands. Shame and embarrassment read across her face. I glared at Edward, wishing Emmet would say something to his brother about being so rude. He looked torn, as if he too wished that Alice hadn't made such a fuss over such unimportant things. Rose rolled her eyes at all of us, taking no sides. Jasper refused to look up and make eye contact, remaining fixedly neutral.

"Look, _Edward_," I spat, narrowing my eyes at him. "We're stuck in this little boat together, and it doesn't look like we're going to be saved any time soon. So for the sake of courtesy, could you please stop being such an ass?"

I was shocked at my own words. I was never like this. The heat and my thirst must be getting to me. Edward crossed his arms over his chest and mumbled something, but didn't say anything otherwise. Another hour or so passed by in silence. Finally, Rose spoke up.

"We need to do something. All of us are thirsty and dehydrated, and we haven't seen land or a ship anywhere. We're all going to die if we keep this up!"

Alice started crying. The day had been far too emotional for her, and it seemed she had decided to clock out.

"What do you want us to do, Blondie? Stand up and do a rain dance? I don't really see what our options are." said Emmet.

"Maybe you can't make it rain, but if I push you out of this life raft right now, at least I'll be able to stretch out my legs." threatened Rosalie, a dangerous look on her beautiful face.

"Guys-" said Jasper, trying to make himself heard, but the two ignored him.

"Well, at least I wouldn't have to listen to you." laughed Emmet, his joking manner only eliciting an angrier response from Rosalie.

Rosalie started to get up, as if she were going to lunge. I grabbed her legs, pulling her back down.

"Guys-" said Jasper again, but no one but Alice was looking at him. Edward put a cautioning arm on Emmet's shoulder.

"You fucking-" started Rosalie, cheeks flushed.

"-Guys!" yelled Jasper, and we all turned toward him, wondering what was so important. I barely knew him, but I knew he was not the kind of person to raise his voice lightly.

"Land!" he said, pointing behind me. I turned and looked over my shoulder, and sure enough, far in the distance, was what looked like an island rising out of the ocean.

_Author's Note: Thanks for reading! Please review, and I'll put out another chapter tommorow!_


	5. Washed Ashore

_Author's Note: Hey everyone! I went and saw Twilight, and really enjoyed it. I also had some amazing, human surround sound, in the form of all the girls in the audience swooning when Edward and Carlisle came on screen. It made the experience all the better, even though I felt a little too old to be there. Oh well, I'm a kid at heart._

_Also, I want to remind everyone how grateful I am for the encouraging reviews. Most people have said such nice, supportive things, cheering me on, encouraging me to write, and it has helped so much. From here on out, I do not have that much left that is already written, so it'll take a lot of perseverence to keep the chapters coming out this quickly. Also, I had planned on this being a teen story, but I feel like it has taken a more adult turn, so for the next chapter I'm bumping up the rating. I'm sorry if that excludes anyone. If this is going to be a problem for you, send me a message and I'll see if I can figure something out for you._

**Edward**

We all stuck our hands out of the raft and started paddling furiously, fighting the current and the waves. All fighting was forgotten as we pulled ourselves inch by inch closer to the island. It steadily grew larger, stretching out before us. I silently hoped that this island had a five star hotel right on the coast where I could get something cool to drink and take a shower. A change of clothes wouldn't be too bad either.

As we approached though, and I was able to make out more features and details, I realized nothing was built along the shore line.

Everything must be farther inland, I told myself, paddling with my cupped hands even faster. We got closer and closer. When we could see the bottom, we all jumped out and pulled the raft toward the coast, running as fast as we could through the chest high water. We reached the sandy beach and pulled the raft up the shore, away from where it could be pulled away again by the waves.

Alice collapsed onto the sand and Bella sat down too, her beautiful face, so natural and inviting and honest, looking weary. I looked up and down the shore and peered into the trees. I could feel my heart plummeting. There was no sign of inhabitation.

"It's a deserted island…" said Jasper, voicing my thoughts. Everyone stared into the trees in stunned silence, realizing the truth. If this island was inhabited, wouldn't there be some sign that people had been here?

"I'm going to look farther. Maybe there's something farther in." said Emmet, starting toward the tropical undergrowth that grew around the perimeter of the jungle-like wooded area.

"You have no idea where you're going." pointed out Rosalie, crossing her arms over her chest. I sighed, not wanting their arguing to start again. I was definitely not in the mood.

"I'll go with him." I cut in, before she could start another fight. "We should probably all go in groups to do things, since none of us knows our way around here. Me and Emmet will see if there are any people. We'll meet back here before sun down." I looked at the sun, which was already starting to move toward the horizon. "That only gives us about an hour," I told Emmet. "We should probably get going."

Rosalie threw up her hands, an expression that clearly said 'Do whatever you want, I don't care what happens to you' on her face. I looked to Jasper, raising my eyebrows.

"You coming?"

He glanced at Alice then back at me. I frowned, unsure of why he had done that. After a moment, I decided I was making too much of it, and that it wouldn't matter anyway. Jasper shook his head.

"I better stay here." he hedged, speaking quietly. But then, Jasper was always rather soft spoken. I shrugged, pitying him. If he wanted to stay here with these over emotional women, more power to him. I nodded at Emmet and we took off.

**Jasper**

I gave a weak smile to the three girls that all stared back at me, puzzled frowns on their faces. I cleared my throat, feeling awkward.

"We should probably see if we can find some clean water." I suggested.

"Absolutely." Bella agreed. I gave her a small, grateful smile. Alice caught the look and glared at me, arms crossed daintily. Apparently she was still upset about me being rude to her. Somehow, I was going to figure out a way to make it up to her. That is, _if_ I could sum up the courage to talk to her.

We started into the island jungle, carefully picking our way through dense under growth. The going was slow, and we had no idea which way we should be headed. I mentally took inventory of what I saw around me, things that could be useful. There were a few tree's that were heavy with fruit- what looked like papaya. Banana trees grew all over, killing out a lot of the other plants like weeds. I wanted to come back to this area later, take a more thorough inventory, and gather some fruit for everyone to eat. But, first things first. We needed to find water.

We'd been walking for a while, and still there was no sign of a water source. The sun was starting to set, so we decided to head back. We didn't want to be gone when Emmett and Edward got back. We walked back toward the camp, but took a slightly different course, trying to cover more ground. On this side, there seemed to be a lot of coconut trees growing where the sun allowed.

I looked down, noticing the footprints of some kind of animal, probably a small pig. I stopped, inspecting it. I smiled, feeling relieved.

"What is it?" asked Rosalie, coming up behind me. I felt mildly uncomfortable with her practically tangible beauty, but pushed down the knot in my stomache. I pointed to the tracks.

"I'm not a boy scout or anything, but I know that if there are animal tracks, there must be a water supply on this island."

"Great. Now we just have to find it." said Bella wearily. Alice trudged along, a flustered, irritated look on her face. She stepped through another sheet of vines, leaving us behind. I looked at Bella in confusion.

"Is she okay?" I asked quietly, feeling guilty. Bella furrowed her brow and shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't know. None of us really expected for this to happen. I think she's just stressed out."

We followed after her, walking quickly to catch up. It didn't take long to find her. When we did, she smiled for the first time that day.

"Water." she breathed, gesturing to a small spring that ran into a narrow stream, the water clear and clean. Bella gave a relieved sigh and Rosalie smiled widely, dipping a hand into the water and bringing it to her lips. She took a taste and nodded.

"It's clean." she announced, and we all drank as much as our stomachs would hold, feeling better instantly.

The trip back to where our raft was pulled up didn't take long, and Emmett and Edward hadn't arrived back yet. The sky was all purples and pinks, only a glimmer of sun glinting off the ocean. Alice shivered in the now much cooler air, rubbing her arms.

"It's getting kind of cold, huh?" commented Rosalie, noting Alice's chill.

Bella's eyes lit up. "Hey, why don't you get something from in the suitcases?" she suggested. Alice's face brightened.

"Oh yeah!" she said happily, springing up. "I completely forgot!"

She ran over to her suitcase and dragged it through the sand to where we were all sitting. Plopping back down, she popped the lock, digging through it. The exuberant look on her face fell.

"All of the clothes are soaked." she said, voice breaking, looking as if she might burst into tears. I hated seeing her upset. Tears welled up in her eyes and spilled over.

"No, please don't cry." I implored softly, my heart aching for her. She buried her face in her hands. I looked around, trying to find something that would help, then realized that I was wearing a light sweater over my t-shirt. I quickly pulled it up over my head, now in just jeans and a thin undershirt. I offered it to her. I'd rather be a little cold than see her unhappy. She looked at my hand that held the sweater in surprise.

"No, I couldn't." she said softly. Rosalie and Bella were watching our interaction in silence, glancing back and forth between each other.

"No, please. I want you to- really." I assured her.

"Are you sure?" she asked, wiping the tear streaks from her face. She was looking at me timidly, her cheeks slightly pink. I gave her a small smile.

"I'm positive."She slowly reached her hand out and took it, her fingertips brushing against my own, and I felt a shock go through me. I no longer needed the sweater at all. The sight of her wearing it, the sleeves far too long for her, the length dwarfing her, made me inexplicably happy, and I suddenly wasn't cold at all.

**Alice**

I inhaled the scent of his sweater as I pulled it on, closing my eyes briefly to savor the sensation. It smelled heavenly. The residual body heat of his sweater made it feel as if his arms were around me. I loved the sensation of the warm, soft material sliding over my body. Would his hands feel this good touching me? I could only imagine that they'd feel better.

I had never encountered something that smelled so good before. The scent of his sweater was warm and soft and masculine and comforting. If he wanted this sweater back, he was going to have to wrestle me for it. An intense image of the two of us wrestling in the sand, bodies entangled, skin touching skin, bodies pressed together intimately, flitted through my mind and I struggled to hide my smile. My cheeks burned, but I took comfort that the dim light would hide the effect.

Edward and Emmett finally arrived back, dog tired and with bad news. There was no sign that people had been here. Ever. The island appeared to be uncharted and uninhabited. This news, which would have thrown me before, sending me into a fresh torrent of sobs, now only made me slightly afraid. With Jasper's sweater encompassing me, I felt braver and more positive.

We all settled in for the night, sleeping close to the raft, lying in the sand. All of us were cold, but I imagined it must be the worst for Jasper. I wanted to go to him and share my body heat with him, but I still didn't know how to bridge the gap between us. I lay next to Rosalie, nobody on my other side. I ached for that space to be filled. Preferably with someone tall and strong and thoughtful, who smelled like warmth and comfort.

That night, though my wish did not come true, I fell asleep feeling a little bit better. This day had given me hope.

**Rosalie**

The next morning, we all awoke unsure of what to do.

"We need to build an SOS signal!" I insisted.

Emmett, always the first to put down my ideas, opened his big mouth. "We haven't even mastered a basic fire. How do you expect us to make an SOS signal?" he questioned, though it wasn't really a question. He was just trying to make me seem like a dumb blonde. Which I was not.

"An SOS doesn't have to be a signal fire," I argued, looking to the others and not bothering with Emmett at all. "A classic SOS is just clusters of three. It could be three piles of rock, or three drift wood formations. We can work on making it bigger every day. The bigger it is, the better the chance that someone will see it."

The others were nodding, agreeing with my plan. After all, it made sense.

"I think our time would be better spent if we focused on building a shelter and gathering food and water." he argued. This caused Bella to panic.

"Wait- why?" she asked, eyes bulging. "Why would we do that? It's not like we're going to stay here. If we build the SOS thing that Rose was talking about, someone's plane will fly over or a ship will see us or something, and we'll be out of here."

Her words were a jumbled mess, practically overlapping in her haste to voice the fears that had undoubtedly been running through her head since the beginning.

"Shh, shh," I murmured, putting an arm around her. I pulled her toward me. I could feel her trembling, but she wasn't crying. She was in shock. "We're not going to be stuck here forever. We're going to be rescued. But in the meantime," I told her. "Emmett is right. We need to be prepared for the worst."I risked a glance up at Emmett, expecting to see his gloating face, but he just looked back at me steadily and gave a faint nod, as if a momentary truce had been called.

We decided to split into groups. Emmett wanted him and Edward or Jasper to carry rocks for the SOS, saying that us girls weren't strong enough to handle the job. I had zero faith that he could handle the job on his own though, so it ended up being me and him in charge of it.

Alice and Jasper, who I caught giving each other furtive glances, were in charge of finding materials to build a shelter out of. With this tropical weather, we could be stuck in the rain again at any moment. They seemed pleased with the job they were given, or perhaps just pleased with the company.

That left Edward and Bella to collect food and water. It was arguably the most important job, and I hoped that they wouldn't let their bickering get in the way. With an agreement to meet back at sundown, we broke off into groups.

**Bella**

I was tired. And I was depressed. And I wasn't quite ready to think about this island in the long term. After everyone split up and took off, I resolutely marched down to the beach, plopped down into the sand, sat on my butt, and fervently started praying that someone would save us.

It was a perfectly good prayer, too, until _he _showed up.

"Are you going to help gather food and water, or not?" Edward asked, his tone irritating me. I refused to look at his face though. I'd noticed in the past couple of days that no matter how mad at him I was, if I looked right at him, all thought quickly left my head. He was no good for my senses.

"I'm thinking a boat is on it's way right now to pick us up." I informed him, smiling up, but looking right between his gorgeous green eyes, resolutely refusing to really _see _anything. So far it was working.

"You just sitting here isn't going to get us saved!" he said angrily. While I knew that was true, I also would have appreciated a little understanding and a moment to gather my wits. How could someone who looked like some kind of dark angel be so horrible? No, I admitted to myself grudgingly. He wan't horrible, and I knew that. I could see that he must be a good person, just like I was. I wasn't sure how we had managed to butt heads so much. I desperately desired for him to like me, but I wasn't willing to appologize. The whole situation- being on this island, being hated by the most devastatingly handsome man I had ever seen- was making me feel hopeless.

"We're going to die here." I moaned, falling back into the sand. The sun was now right above, blinding me. It was blocked and I was cast into shadow as Edward leaned over me.

"We will if you keep this up." he agreed, though he did not sound agreeable. Funny how that was possible. I didn't say anything and he let out a very frustrated sigh.

"Fine. I'm going without you then. Do whatever you want." He angrily marched over to the raft that was pulled up almost to the trees and retrieved the knife he had been using on the boat to cut the ropes.

"What's that for?" I asked aloud, before I could help myself. He turned and gave me a withering gaze, as if I was annoying him.

"I'm going to go hunt." He said. I wasn't sure how he kept a straight face. I tried to keep it in, but my laughter couldn't be repressed and came out in choppy, spluttering giggles.

"You're what?" I asked, cracking a grin. "You're going to _hunt _with that thing?" I paused for more laughter, unable to keep it in. Maybe it was all the heat or something, but this seemed really funny to me. "Who do you think you are, Steve Irwin? I mean, are you going to go and find some animal, wrestle around with it, and stab it to death with your little knife?"

I rolled around in the sand, unable to suppress my laughter. How ridiculous! He really thought he was going to catch something that way! When I finally caught my breath and looked around, he was gone.

My heart plummeted. I actually felt a little guilty. I thought again about him hunting with just a little knife and no experience whatsoever, and a smile spread across my face. Okay, maybe I didn't feel _that _guilty.

That Edward was a miracle worker though. I mean, at least I wasn't feeling sorry for myself anymore. I got up off the ground and stumbled over on wobbly legs to the suitcases. I decided I was going to look through them and see if there was anything useful. At the very least, I could set our clothes out to dry. I wouldn't mind a fresh pair of clothes. The thought of putting clean clothes on a dirty body made my nose crinkle in disgust. I'd definitely need to take a bath first.

I started with my suitcase, splitting things into several piles. I laid out the clothes in the sun and put rocks on top of them so they wouldn't fly away. With this heat, the damp, salty clothes would be dry in no time. I set aside my box of tampons, now very thankful I had brought them even though I wasn't scheduled to start my period for another two weeks. The box they had come in was ruined by the water though. I pulled out the stiletto's Alice had deftly snuck back in, thinking they might be useful for something later on. Maybe pounding something, I thought. Then, with a look at the pointy heel, I thought maybe Edward might have some luck hunting with them. The thought brought on a fresh wave of giggles.

I came across all of the stockings and fishnets that Alice had insisted I pack, and I was going to throw them to the useless pile, but something stopped me. Fishnets… Something was coming. There was something important here, I thought, pushing my fingers through the holes of the stocking I held. Fishnets. Fishnets. Fish nets. Fish nets! Yes, of course! I wanted to kiss Alice. She was a genius. It was like she could see the future or something. These fishnet stockings could be used as a net for fish!

A smug smile settled over my face as I thought what it would be like when Edward came home empty handed, and I had a beautiful tray of sushi for everyone. I searched around me for some sturdy, straight sticks. I found what I was looking for and set them aside. Then, I pulled the legs of the stockings apart, creating a wider net for fish to swim in to. I tied the ends around the two sticks I had collected, creating a very wide net that would hopefully capture a fish. I waded into the clear water, hand crafted fishing net in my hands. After finding a place where there were many spaces in the rocky bottom that were big enough to lodge the sticks, I secured the net. A fish would hopefully swim right in and get caught, then I could come back later and collect it. One stick was long enough that it protruded from the water. Looking around to make sure that no one was within distance to see me, I took off my bra and tied it to the end of the stick so that it flapped in the wind like a flag. I didn't want to forget where my genius fishing net was, after all.

I looked at the second bag: Rosalie's. I was almost afraid to open it, afraid she might tear my head off for invading her privacy. I very carefully sorted through her things, putting them into neat little piles and lines to dry out. There didn't seem to be anything too useful among her things, though she did have an extremely large stash of condoms. I wondered what her plans had been for this trip. She certainly wasn't going to need them now.

Finished with Rosalie's suitcase and not coming up with any other MacGyver-worthy contraptions, I moved on to Alice's luggage. She had a lot more stuff than me, but suddenly I was glad. Here was the mother load that would save us. After rifling through her humongous plastic train case and finding nothing but a useless horde of cosmetics and cosmetic paraphernalia, I came upon the good stuff. There were huge supplies of shampoo, conditioner, soap, tampons, sunscreen, and bless her heart, candles and a lighter! I almost whooped in joy. Excitement washed over me. How proud would everyone be when they came back and I had a cheerful little fire burning away?I ran into the jungle and collected as much dry tinder, twigs, and branches as I could find, then made a circle of rocks for the fire to go in. I made a little stack of the tender and got out the lighter. I flicked it. Nothing.

I flicked it again. Nothing.

I flicked it over and over, refusing to believe it wouldn't work.

"Nooo!" I yelled, anger and frustration washing over me. "Work, damnit!" I flicked it a few more times, willing it to light, begging it to light. "Come on, please? Please work?" But it didn't. The lighter was ruined by all the water damage.

"Fuck!" I yelled at the top of my lungs, all manners I had ever learned out the window, throwing the lighter down angrily into the sand. Why? Why couldn't it have worked? Just this once? Couldn't I get a little luck?

Alice and Jasper both emerged from the trees, running toward me.

"What happened?" asked Jasper, looking around frantically, body tense. Alice came to me and threw her arms around my neck.

"Bella!" she cried, burying her face in my hair. "I thought you were hurt! I was so worried! Why in the world were you yelling like that? Are you okay?"

I looked around uneasily, my face hot with embarrassment and shame. Alice finally let go and I kicked the sand with my toe.

"Well, I was going through all of our suitcases and I found your lighter," I started, and noted that both Alice and Jasper's eyes had lit up in hope. "But then when I tried to light a fire… it didn't work."

Their faces fell and Alice plopped down onto the ground. "Can't we… I don't know- rub two sticks together or something?" she asked, instantly dismissing her own idea. Jasper paced around our little camp, a serious look on his face. We all were silent for a few minutes, lost in our own thoughts.

"You had all this stuff in your suitcases?" he asked, looking at the pile of non-clothes items I had created.

I nodded. "Well, mostly Alice did." I confirmed. He knelt down and started looking through all the things she had brought, and I blushed when he pushed aside our tampons and Rosalie's condoms. "Some of that is Rose's too." I added quietly, shuffling my feet.

He dug through a little more, then straightened back up and smiled at Alice.

"In that case, I'm very glad you went back for your luggage." he said. "That decision may end up saving us."

"Really?" asked Alice, her face lighting up. She had been feeling a lot of guilt after the things her brothers had said. Now her face glowed, eager for praise. She was looking at Jasper in adoration. I felt bad. I hadn't been a very good friend to her lately. I should have been more reasurring to her. Seeing how much she responded to Jasper made me realize she must have felt enormous guilt

Jasper nodded his head. "Definitely. I think I might be able to start a fire with this." He held up a powder compact and I raised my eyebrows, then he flicked it open and revealed a mirror.

Me and Alice helped him gather up all of the fire materials again. We had all learned in science the refracting powers of a mirror. If we angled it so that it caught the sun and reflected it onto the tinder, we might be able to get the fire going. Alice and I also picked out a mirror from her makeup box, deciding that three mirrors were surely better than one. Together, we all eventually managed to catch the light of high noon. We held the mirrors like that, feeling anxious. At first nothing happened, and I feared Jasper's idea wouldn't work. My arm was getting tired, and I was about to drop it, when I saw the tiniest wisp of smoke emerge from the tinder.

"Look," I breathed softly, afraid my breath would extinguish it. It slowly grew, till a tiny fire was visible. With his other hand, Jasper slowly fed the tiny flame more tinder, then twigs. He lowered his face to it and softly blew and the fire grew. We let go of our mirrors and fed the little fire, watching as it grew larger and larger. When the fire was well established, we all leaned back on our heels, crouched down and watching it, amazed at what we had just achieved. I had never felt so accomplished before in all my life. I couldn't believe that us three, all new graduates who grew up in the suburbs and the cities, had managed this feat. We all looked at each other in amazement.

"We should go gather more fire wood," said Alice, the first to break the reverie. She stood up. "Who wants to come with me?"

"I will." said Jasper instantly. I shook my head. I still had other things left to do. They departed back toward the jungle.

I trekked into the forest, deciding to gather some fruit. I brought along Alice's huge purse to carry home my goods in. Fruit was aplenty, and for that I was glad. I had only to pick up pieces from the ground that weren't too bruised or rotted. A lot of it had already been picked at by animals and bugs, but I managed to find plenty that was in good shape. My bag was bursting with ripe yellow bananas, succulent cucumbers, sweet smelling papaya, and a few coconut that I would figure out how to crack later.

I lugged it all back to the spot by the fire that I was beginning to think of as our unofficial 'home' and put it down. Now, the issue was water. I knew where some was. It was clean and plentiful, but it did present a problem. How was I supposed to get it home? I looked around me, taking a mental inventory again. I thought about episodes of Gilligan's Island I had seen where they filled the coconuts with water and drank from them, but I had no idea how to drill little holes in them like Gilligan and the rest of the crew had done.

Then I spotted the train case. Big and plastic, it was the perfect water-proof vessel. I dumped Alice's cosmetics out into one of her other bags. With case in hand, I found the sight of the spring again and filled my container. It was much heavier now, but I got it all back.

I decided now would be a good time to check my net, seeing as the sun was getting low. I reached the flag and let out a whoop of joy. A fish was caught. _What do I do with it now_, I wondered. I certainly didn't want to pull the live thing out of the water. I also didn't want to take apart the whole contraption I had rigged. In another flash of brilliance, I ran back to my belongings and grabbed a regular pair of panty-hose. When I reached the fishing net again, I herded the fish into the second pair of panty hose and pulled it out of the water. It flopped around for a while and I felt a little bit bad, but growing up around Charlie had gotten me used to this. "Sorry buddy," I apologized to the fish. "But we gotta eat." Being around an avid fisher like Charlie had taught me how to handle the once very emotional ordeal of fish dying. Now I could trap them, gut them, and cook them. _Thanks Charlie_, I thought, carrying my fish in the leg of a pair of panty hose.

This would show Edward.

**Rosalie**

We decided on a beach on a different stretch of the island, one where there was more open space and less trees that might obstruct the view if seen from an airplane.

"So Blondie," started Emmet as we walked from the SOS sight back into the jungle to gather large rocks.

"The name's Rosalie." I interrupted him, irritation seeping into my voice. He laughed, a full throated, happy go lucky sound. A sound I very much liked, secretly.

"Okay… Rosalie. How come your friends are losing their marbles and you're so calm?"

I glanced at him from the corner of my eye, carefully picking my way through the mass of vines and shrubbery.

"You really want to know?"

He looked at me and nodded. I could tell I had struck his interest.

"The truth is, I planned on the yacht sinking. I facilitated it, actually."

He stared at me in open-mouthed shock, apparently not expecting this particular answer. "What?!" His tone was more confusion than anger. He was too bewildered to be pissed.

"Yeah," I said with a sigh, picking up a large rock that fit into the palm of my hand and tossing it up in the air a few times, catching it deftly. "The whole thing was this huge set up. You wouldn't believe how many people it takes to rig one little hurricane. And then there was the problem of creating a lightning storm…"He stared at me, mouth slightly agape, a line formed between his eye brows. Suddenly he grasped that I was joking and started loudly laughing, hunched over, hardly able to catch his breath. Colorful birds, disturbed by this man and his loud, abrupt noises, took off into the sunny sky, the air a whirl of feathers. He caught his breath and smiled at me, genuinely. I couldn't help the smile that answered his, as much as I tried.

We took the rocks we had back to the sight and deposited them in what was our first pile. On our way back to the jungle, he picked the conversation back up again.

"You didn't really answer my question." he pressed. "Now, you seem like the kind of girl who gets her panties in a twist over a broken nail, but here you are, kicking ass and taking names. I know Alice can be sensitive, and I would never expect her to troop along any better than she is now, but even Bella, who strikes me as pretty level headed, is starting to lose it. But not you. How come? Was your dad an army man or something?"I didn't answer immediately, not quite sure what to say. Why was I more capable than the others? I'd certainly never done anything like this before. The closest I had ever even come to camping was when my mom's boyfriend had taken us to a fully furnished cabin in the woods. Of course, I had opted to sleep outside that week anyway. Being cold and mosquito bitten was still better than listening to you mother moaning and her boyfriend of the moment grunting all night.

"I'm not sure," I said, picking up another large rock. I shrugged, then turned serious. "You know, I'm not just some dumb blonde bimbo, or a little Barbie or something, Emmett. You really don't know me at all."

He nodded his head. "Yeah, I'm starting to see that."

We continued walking back and forth between the sight and the jungle, toting along as many rocks as we could, but it was usually only two at a time- one in each hand. This was a very slow progress, and also a very irritating one. I wished I had something to carry more rocks in so we didn't have to make so many trips.

"Argh, this is so frustrating!" I yelled, throwing my rocks into the pile violently. Emmett looked at me with raised eyebrows, questioning. "I hate only being able to carry two or three rocks at a time!" I told him. "We're wasting our time going back and forth like this."

He nodded his head. "Yeah, I have to agree. We just need something to…" his face lit up. "That's it!"

"_what_'s it?" I asked as he took off his shirt. I took a moment to admire his body while the shirt was over his head. His body was flawless. I couldn't stop a smile from forming on my face. His chest was lightly tanned and well defined. His abs were… ugh, simply to die for. His body put Greek gods to shame. My continued reverie was cut off when he emerged from under his shirt, which was now completely off. I gulped down the lump that had formed in my throat, trying to find my voice.

"What are you _doing_?" I asked, trying to sound offended, but not quite pulling it off. He winked at me and smiled.

"This, sugar, is our solution." I was about to smack him for calling me sugar again, till he demonstrated how he could make a pouch out of his shirt by holding both ends and carry a lot more rocks at once.

"That's genius!" I said, unable to stop myself. I started pulling my own shirt off till he stopped me. His voice sounded frantic, strangled even.

"What are you doing?!" He asked, eyes wide. I smirked, feeling much better now that he was getting a taste of his own medicine. All the better, because I had hardly even lifted the hem.

"I want to be able to carry that much at once, too." I told him simply, like telling a person that two plus two equaled four. It just made sense. _And, _we were on a deserted island. Who other than him was going to see if I was walking around in my jeans and bra, lugging rocks along in my shirt? No one.

I slowly, tantalizingly, pulled my shirt off, trying to draw out the torture for as long as possible. I was not disappointed. When I got the shirt off, his mouth was open and his eyes were huge. I glanced down. That wasn't the only thing that was huge, I thought with a grin. In one swift move, before I could even register what he was doing, he had pulled me to him. I was pressed against his chest, skin touching skin, body making contact in all the right places. My body instantly reacted, my breath hitching, my heart speeding up. My lips parted slightly, and being this close, I could smell the masculine, musky smell of him. It was raw but inticing. I wanted to be closer still, to kiss him, to run my hands over his beautiful, strong body. But still, I hardly knew this guy, and he'd been a jerk all week.

I pulled away from him. "What do you think you're doing?" I asked, crossing my arms over my chest, staring at him angrily. He looked back at me in confusion, then his face became irritated.

"Me? What do you think _you're _doing? You're the one who took off your shirt!" he said defensively.

"So did you!" I said. What a double standard, I thought.

"Yeah, but you and me are very different, princess, and I think you know that's obvious. What am I supposed to think when you whip off your shirt in front of me?"

I didn't say anything for a moment, then stomped away, talking to him over my shoulder, stopping to pick up the large rocks that I saw. "Look Emmett. We don't know how long we'll be stuck on this island. It could be a long time. We're going to be seeing a lot of each other. If you can't control yourself when you see me in my bra, this is going to make for a very long experience!"

He followed my lead and began shoving rocks into his make shift sack. "Well, that sure looked like an invitation to me." he said, a tinge of embarrassment in his voice. I rounded on him.

"Why?" I asked, stopping. "Because I'm blonde? Because I wear sexy clothes? I'm not a slut, for your information, and I don't sleep with every fucking imbecile who propositions me!" I stomped away from him back to the sight of our SOS. For the rest of the day, I'd be working in a different area than him. I'd had more than enough of Emmett Cullen and his confusing, sexy, irritating self.

_Author's Note: Hello, my friends. Thanks for reading and please review. Maybe with enough motivation and encouragement, I'll be able to finish another chapter quickly. I'm sorry, I don't want to be one of those people who says "I have to get 15 reviews or I won't put up the next chapter." It's nothing like that. I just want to make sure that people actually _want_ me to keep going._


	6. Searching

_Author's Note: Thank you so much for the wonderful reviews. They mean the world to me. Hopefully I'll get that many again :) So, I haven't changed the rating yet, but for those of you who are younger readers or just don't like profanity or inapropriate language, go ahead and skip the first two paragraphs of Emmett's section, then you'll be fine. Don't worry, you won't miss anything, I promise._

_**Last time...**_

__

"Look Emmett," said Rosalie. "We don't know how long we'll be stuck on this island. It could be a long time. We're going to be seeing a lot of each other. If you can't control yourself when you see me in my bra, this is going to make for a very long experience!"

**Emmett**

What the fuck? What the hell was I supposed to think when a hot chick took off her shirt right in front of me? I wasn't a saint! The sight of her toned, flawless body and her large, perky tits barely constrained in that little black lace bra, had sent my body into a frenzy. I was now left with a very uncomfortable problem, and it was all her fault.

To think, we'd actually been getting along. I'd even been thinking I'd been wrong about her, that maybe she wasn't what she seemed. Well, I was right. She wasn't a stupid slut. She was a conniving tease! She was a harpy that prayed on men, a modern day succubus, and I was her latest victim.

The two of us continued working in silence, only stopping once so we could gorge ourselves on over ripe fruit and to drink more water from the spring. I tried not to, but I couldn't resist the urge to look over at her. I am a man after all, and the sight of her would have made any person with a y chromosome react the exact same way. I definitely thought she was hot, there was no doubt about that, but I caught myself just as often watching her face as her figure. Something about the way her long, silky blonde hair hung over her shoulder when she picked up more rocks for the piles… It was obvious she was no bottle blonde. And the expression on her face- the sheer determination, the sweat forming on her brow, the slight purse of her lips when she lifted her heavy load, left me in awe of her. This woman was tough. She could hold her own, and I knew she'd do just fine, with or without me.

Secretly, I hoped that it would be _with_ me though.

The sun was starting to set and we were fairly happy with our SOS signal, so we set back to 'camp' in silence, walking with several meters between us. Now that the work was done, she'd gone back to wearing her shirt looking pissy. I was happy about neither of these things. I ran a hand through my curly hair and sighed.

"Look, Rose, I'm-"

She cut me off angrily. "No Emmett. You don't call me Rose. My _friends _call me Rose, not you. You also don't call me sugar, or princess, or any other demeaning little nickname you come up with. You can call me Rosalie, that's it."

I didn't say anything. I had been about to apologize, but not after that. We reached the edge of the jungle and stepped into the sand. My eyes widened at the sight before me. Bella welcomed us from a ways away, waving happily, standing before a healthy fire pit. A stick was wedged between a few rocks, supporting a medium sized fish over the flames. I smiled in delight and came toward her, scooping her up in my arms.

"Bella!" I said, swinging her around. "Have I told you lately that you're my favorite person in the world?"

I set her down on the sand and she looked up at me with wide brown eyes, her expression surprised, but a smile was on her face. Her cheeks were bright red. Rosalie came up to the fire and observed it with a hand on her hip, then leveled me and Bella with a cool gaze. Bella shrank back from her and Rose slightly relaxed, giving a small smile to her friend.

"Good job Bella." she said, but a hint of iciness remained in her tone. She flicked her blue eyes to me and walked around to the other side, sitting down. I followed her example and sat in front of the fire, enjoying the smell of the cooking fish. Some protein sounded way better than all that sugary sweet papaya.

"So, where's Edward?" I asked Bella, leaning back on my elbows. Her eyes widened, but I couldn't tell what she was thinking.

"Oh, um, I'm not sure." she said slowly, looking nervously toward the trees. "He went into the woods and hasn't come back yet."

I frowned. "You two were supposed to stay together. That was the whole point…" I said, feeling a little bit of agitation.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled, standing up. "I'm going to go find him."I could tell she felt nervous for some reason, and I wasn't sure if it was because of me, or if she wasn't telling me something. "I'll go with you." I said, beginning to get up. She stopped me with a shake of her head.

"No, no. You stay with Rose. I'll be right back. I don't think he went far."

She dashed off into the jungle, leaving me and Rosalie to look at each other in confusion over the flames.

**Alice**

This was not going the way I had hoped it would. I wanted this to be our big chance to get to know each other, but he was being so difficult. Okay, maybe difficult wasn't the right word. In all actuality, I'd probably never met a _less_ difficult person in all my life. But why wouldn't he talk to me? Oh, he'd answer my questions, sure, but he'd never elaborate on anything, or make conversation. The only time he'd say anything to me was to warn me of something to watch out for, or to ask if I was thirsty yet or if I needed any help carrying anything. What was I doing wrong?He had brought his knife, and together we used it to cut down palm fronds and break bamboo. We weren't sure exactly what we would do with all these things, but gathered them none the less, also adding to our load as many vines as we could find, an armful of tall, stiff, reed-like grasses, and the huge, elephant ear leaves that grew everywhere.

We were carrying it all back (okay, at his insistence, _he_ carried most of it, but I helped) back to where Bella was, when we heard her shouts. We couldn't make out what she was saying, but she sounded like she was in distress, so we both dropped our loads and ran to her.

I was very relieved to find out that she had not been injured, and then Jasper, that angel, that god, had made a fire! I had wanted to kiss him before, but now… now I could hardly restrain myself.

We went back and picked up our loads and dropped them off near the raft, then went out in search of firewood. After all that worry and waiting with the mirrors, we didn't want the fire to go out under any circumstances. We now had a very healthy pile of wood several yards away from the fire, so we went back to our task of building a hut.

Jasper and I surveyed our materials, at a loss.

"Do you know how to…" I asked.

"No…" he replied, running a hand through his hair. We sighed at the same time.

I tried to recall movies I had seen on the subject, but I couldn't remember an actual "How to build a hut out of grass and leaves" scene. Too bad.

"Well, we should probably… I don't know… build the… frame…first?" He said, clearly unsure of himself. Heck, his guess was as good as mine.

"Yeah, sure." I agreed. "That sounds good."

We started by drawing lines in the sand of what we wanted to be the parameters. Then, we drove the bamboo into the sand as far as we could into the corners. We looked at our work and frowned. The bamboo only came up to about our chest, and it didn't look like it would hold anything, much less a roof over our heads. We started filling in the sides with bamboo, trying to create some sort of wall.

"This doesn't look right at all." said Jasper, and I couldn't have agreed more. If I had to sleep in this, I'd worry that it'd collapse in on me.

"Maybe if we make it round?" I asked, trying to think. I remembered seeing pictures of teepees, and thought, maybe if we had a circular base made of bamboo, we could have a roof that was shaped like a teepee. I explained my idea to Jasper and he seemed pretty impressed. Suddenly, I felt a lot more confident in myself. If he thought I could do it, then maybe I could.

We started to build the circular base. It had about a seven foot diameter, large enough that we would all be able to lie down in it, though we would be very cramped. The parameter was sunken bamboo stalks, and though they were only about four and a half feet tall, the roof would add more height, even though it slanted. It took a lot of bamboo, and we ended up having to go into the jungle again to find and collect more. Next, we made the roof, or at least what would support the roof, which was lots of bamboo stocks all tilted toward each other. We'd have to cover it with palm fronds though, if we wanted to keep out the rain. We secured the roof to the base with the vines we had collected, then stood back and looked at our work.

I couldn't believe it. It looked so good! Okay, it wasn't the Hilton, but I couldn't believe that me and Jasper had built this in only a couple of hours!"Let's go in it!" I said excitedly. I walked in and he followed after me. It was dimmer in the hut, but a lot of light still streamed in from between the bamboo stocks. That was a problem we would fix later, I thought. I ran my fingers lightly across the bamboo 'wall' basking in my happiness of being here with Jasper, in this little hut we had created.

We heard a loud creaking, and neither of us moved, staring at each other with wide eyes.

I heard a snap, and neither of us had a chance to react before the roof fell in and the sides collapsed on us. It didn't hurt, or at least, it only hurt my ego, but I was stuck underneath a lot of bamboo. I started scrambling to get out from under it all and heard Jasper doing the same. All of the vines, and the roof that was secured together, were making it really difficult to get out. I felt Jasper push the roof off of us and stand up, bamboo stocks breaking underneath him. He pulled the rest off of me and knelt down next to me, cradling my head in his arms.

"Alice, are you okay?" he asked, worry evident in his voice. I wished suddenly that I wasn't so he would stay like that and keep holding me, keep looking at me that way. But, I also didn't want to start our relationship based off of a lie.

"Y-yes, I'm alright." I said, giving a small smile. He smiled back in relief and pulled me to my feet. My hands tingled where he had touched them. "Looks like we're no good at construction, huh?" I asked, laughing.

He nodded and laughed too, the most wonderful sound I had ever heard. I stopped, so caught off guard by this open show of his emotions. He stopped laughing too, an uncomfortable look on his face. Suddenly, the whole situation- us building the hut, it falling on us, me laughing, him laughing- all seemed so ridiculous that I started to laugh again, unable to control myself. He joined in, and suddenly neither of us could stop, spurred on by the other, clutching our stomachs and gasping for air, all the while standing atop the remains of our hut.

**Bella**

Shit. Shit, where was he? Where in the world had he gone? God, how could I be so stupid? Why did I let him just leave like that? The moment that Emmett had asked me where his brother was, I had felt so guilty. Why did I have to go and make fun of Edward? What if something had happened to him?

No, I told myself. He's probably just out there playing with his little knife, and hasn't come back yet because, surprise surprise, he didn't catch anything. Men. I continued through the jungle, scanning as far as I could, but the trees were so thick, and I had no idea which way he had gone. I should have brought Emmett after all, I thought with a gulp.

It was starting to get dark, and also colder. What if he had already gone back and was enjoying that big, warm fire, and I was out here in the cold searching for nothing? I was about to turn back when I caught a flash of bronze hair.

"Edward!" I called, running toward him. "Finally I found you. Look, I'm sorry about what I-"He turned and looked at me, but the look in his eyes was not one that I understood. They were wide… almost wide with- fear?"Bella!" he warned. "Hurry, get out of here!" I heard a snort and saw what I had been missing before. A huge boar stood in front of Edward, an angry, fierce look in it's eyes. It looked like it was about to charge at Edward, who had his knife, which he had attached to the end of a sturdy stick like a spear, all ready. Then it saw me and it changed directions. I couldn't move. I was frozen, and it felt like I was watching the whole thing happening in slow motion, but I couldn't do anything about it.

"Bella, get out of the way!" Edward called, but it was too late. The boar was practically right on top of me. I closed my eyes, awaiting the excruciating pain of his sharp tusks sinking into me. Instead, I felt myself pushed roughly and falling away. I opened my eyes to see Edward jammed up against a tree, an angry boar retracting one long white tusk from the top of Edward's leg. I gasped in horror, then picked up the heaviest rock I could reach and hurled it at the boar, afraid it might gore him again. It didn't even occur to me that the angry boar might turn on me. The rock caught the boar in it's flanks and it took off running in the other direction, spooked, or at least tired of the humans.

I ran to Edward, tears falling from my eyes and sliding down my cheeks. He lay several yards away, in a heap at the base of a large tree, blood pooling from his leg.

"Edward!" I cried, throwing myself to the ground next to him. "Why did you…?" I asked, frantically trying to figure out what to do. How was I supposed to get him back? How was I supposed to keep him from bleeding to death? I pushed the hair out of his eyes, cradling his head in my arms, my tears falling on his cheeks. I brushed them away, but more fell.

"You're…you're okay…" he whispered, but his eyes were unfocused.

"You're losing too much blood…" I said, but I wasn't sure if I was telling him or just talking to keep from going crazy. "I need to stop- to stop all the blood from…" I couldn't finish the sentence. Blood was seeping out from the wound, staining his jeans dark and shiny. "It needs pressure." I said, trying to sound firm, remembering hearing that once. I needed bandages to tie his wound up with, but I didn't have any. I reached down and took my shirt in my hands, tearing off the bottom half all the way around with a loud rip. I doubled it over, then tied it tightly around his wound. He winced in pain, but I had to make sure he stopped losing blood.

"Edward?" I asked, brushing the hair out of his face that was matted to his brow. "Edward, please, stay with me." I implored. "We need to get you back to camp, but I can't carry you by myself. I need you to help me. Can you do that?"

His eyes fluttered open, a dazed and pained look on his face. He swallowed and nodded. "Yes… Help me get up…please." he said. I stood and put my hands under his arms, pulling him up. He moaned in half-conscious pain and leaned against the tree for support.

"C'mon." I begged, putting his arm over my shoulder, taking as much of his weight off his injured leg as possible. "It's not that far, you can make it."

We walked slowly, and several times he seemed to give out and collapse on me, but I always managed to stay upright. I half dragged, half helped him walk through the jungle, both of us covered in his blood. I worried my binding wasn't tight enough, though the bleeding _did _seem to be slowing down.

"Edward…" I said softly, not even sure he could hear me through all of his pain. He made no sign that he had heard me. "I think I was wrong about you." I continued, not sure why I was saying all this. What was the point? He wouldn't remember any of it anyway. Still, I needed to get this off my chest. "When I first met you, I thought you were the most… beautiful… man… I had ever met. Then, I don't know what happened. I thought you were a jerk, and mean and rude and horrible, and I wouldn't give you a chance." I sniffled, feeling more tears slide down my cheeks.

"But I was so wrong, so wrong. You- you didn't have to step in front of that boar for me. I certainly didn't deserve it. And I feel awful, because I shouldn't have let you go all by yourself out there. This is all my fault…"

He didn't say anything, and I assumed he hadn't heard me. I could hardly support him, and it felt like he was falling closer and closer to unconsciousness each second. I could hear the sound of the waves now, and I kept pulling him along, praying my legs would have the strength to get him back. I pulled him closer to me, repositioning his arm that was around my shoulders, and kept going. Now I could see the beach between the trees.

"Help!" I called, pulling him forward. Now we were out of the jungle, standing at the edge of the sandy beach, and I could see the fire glowing. "We need help! Edward's hurt!"

**Jasper**

I was the first to respond. Alice and I had returned to 'camp' over an hour ago, and Emmett and Rosalie informed me that Bella had gone into the jungle to search for Edward.

"Maybe we should go after her." I said, looking uneasily at the tree's, noting the position of the sun. Emmett shook his head.

"Naw. Bella said she'd be right back."So we waited, feeling certain she'd be back any moment. None of us expected for her to be gone so long, and we certainly didn't expect for her to come back and call for help.

I jumped up from my position by the fire where I had been sitting slightly apart from everyone else, and ran toward Bella and Edward. The other's followed me, fast on my heels. As I got closer, I realized something was wrong with Edward. He was leaning heavily on Bella, glassy eyed and abnormally pale in the moonlight. I took him from Bella, putting his arm over my shoulder. Emmett came and did the same on the other side, and together we got him back to the fire and laid him down.

"Alice, could you get some of those palm fronds and those big leaves please?" I asked, untying the cloth Bella had tied around his leg. Glancing at her, I realized it was the bottom of her shirt and was grateful she was so resourceful. Alice took off running toward where the collapsed hut was. I wanted to have a mat to lay him on. I was worried about getting sand in his wound.

"He was- he was attacked by a boar…" Bella choked out, sobbing. Rosalie gave her arm a quick, reassuring squeeze. "It's all my fault…" Bella whispered.

Alice quickly came back with an armful of materials, and she and Rosalie constructed a small bed in the sand as Bella and Emmett looked on in horror, frozen in their spots. Emmett helped me move him to the pallet, then I ripped the leg of his jeans so I could inspect the wound. It was right above his knee, a deep gore that went down into the muscle of his leg.

"We need to wash it out." I said. Bella went and grabbed the case the was full of water. Carefully she held it over his wound and slowly poured it. He winced, then kept his eyes closed tightly, mouth set into a hard line, fighting back the pain.

"I'll go tear some clean strips." said Alice, running toward where the now dry clothes were. She came back quickly, clutching a few of her own shirts in her hands.

"Thank you." I told her quietly, keeping my hand firmly on his wound. She nodded her head, hazel eyes full of tears. I could see a few tear drops clinging to her eyelashes.

"He's my brother…" she replied softly, and started tearing her clothes apart.

"Edward, how are you doing?" I asked, trying to keep him conscious and alert. I saw him grimace before answering.

"Never better." he answered gruffly. I couldn't help the tiny grin that found it's way to my face. Good old Edward.

"We're going to get you all fixed up." I said, patting his shoulder. He nodded slightly, eyes closed.

"Carlisle would be proud of you." he said. I laughed, but it was a hollow sound.

"Too bad I don't have some morphine, huh?" I asked.

He nodded. "Yeah, or at least some vicadin."

Alice brought me the long strips she had made for bandages, and I retied them. I went ahead and went over it several times, trying to secure the whole area. I hoped desperately that it wasn't infected. After I was done, his face relaxed and his breathing slowed.

"He's asleep." I said to the others. I looked at Bella. "It's a good thing you found him when you did. I'm not sure how long he would have lasted out there with this wound."

Bella opened her mouth to say something, then quickly shut it again, nodding. She sat down next to him and gently lifted his head into her lap, cradling it softly, stroking his hair and softly brushing her fingers across his face. Emmett had been extremely quiet through the whole thing. He watched his little brother, a worried look on his face. Rosalie put a comforting hand on his arm and he gave her a faint smile. She put one arm around his waist, leaning against him. He put his arm around her shoulders and they leaned against each other, not speaking, but apparently getting the best support that they could from each other.

I looked at Alice, who sat across the fire from Edward, her knees drawn into her chest, arms around them, chin resting on her knees. The firelight reflected off of her glassy eyes as she stared through the flames. She looked so tiny and fragile. Unsure of myself, but feeling like I should say something, I went and sat next to her, closer than I ever had before, our sides practically touching. I could feel not only the heat of the fire, but the heat of her body next to mine. I opened my mouth to say something- I don't remember what, maybe something to comfort her. Truthfully, her presence astounded me so much I could hardly speak around her.

"Alice, I-"

She stood abruptly, one held in tear sliding down her smooth, pale cheek. She looked at me over her shoulder sadly.

"I'm sorry, Jasper, but I need some time to think right n-now." Her voice broke and she ran off in the direction of the ocean. I let her go for a moment, but I couldn't stop thinking about her. What if something happened to her? What if she got hurt? Silently I stood and followed after her, keeping her in my sight, but at a good distance away to give her privacy. I didn't want her to know I was watching her, but I wanted to be there in case she needed me.

**Alice**

I watched my twin brother from across the flames. Our bond went deeper than that of most siblings. I could practically feel his pain, and I could definitely see it. I could tell he was trying to play down what had happened to him. He kept his mouth tightly shut, and so were his eyes. A pained look was on his face. Even in his sleep he had a deep frown, his mouth a hard line.

I wanted to take away his pain, to somehow make him all better again. All I could do though was sit and wait. We helped him eat, and together we all had a tense, worried, but delicious dinner of grilled fish, cucumber slices, papaya, and banana, though none of us could enjoy it. We dipped our hands into the water pail when we got thirsty, and brought Edward as much as he could handle. Why hadn't I packed Tylenol? Or at least some Midol? That wasn't like me. Now he had nothing for the pain, no medicine, no ice, not even a bed.

Jasper sat next to me and interrupted my reverie. After the emotional evening, I was left feeling irritable and edgy. His sudden presence next to me, which I would have basked in any other time, now irritated me. I was feeling moody and high strung, and just had too many things to think about. I tried to get away, but not before a tear escaped my eye.

I ran for the ocean, wanting the salty waves to wash away my pain. I stood before them for a while, listening to the crash against the shore. I could see the moon reflected in the black waters, a rippling white orb. It wasn't enough for me. I wanted to get in, wash away some of the dirt and grime and emotion of the day. I started stripping my clothes off, leaving them in a pile on the sand, till I was only wearing my bra and underwear. I looked back at the fire, far up on the shore. Everyone was far enough away that they would not be able to see me. I could hardly see them, and they were in the light.

I waded into the ocean, washing my body with my hands. I wished I had brought my soap, but just washing with water was better than nothing. I floated on my back for a while, staring up at the moon. Once, I thought I saw someone standing on the shore, but I wiped the water from my eyes and looked again and the figure was gone, surely just a figment of my imagination. I got out of the water, but didn't want to put my dry clothes on my dirty body. I found a large rock to sit on and combed my fingers through my hair, quickly drying in the chill night air. I started shivering, but the cold helped me focus. My thoughts had felt fuzzy and muddled all day.

I went back for my clothes and put them back on, wishing I had brought a clean change. I felt bad for the guys. Me, Bella, and Rosalie had several changes of clothing, but they only had the clothes on their backs. I pulled on my shirt, then put Jasper's sweater on over it. I ran my hand down the sleeve, feeling it's softness and thinking about him. He had been so nice to give this to me, but now my clothes were dry. By keeping this, as much as I wanted to, I'd be making him more miserable. He'd be cold and freezing without it.

I jogged back to the fire. Everyone was either asleep or half-way there. Bella was still sitting next to Edward, his head in her lap, but she was asleep now. Her head was bent down in sleep, shoulders slumped, hair pooling around her face and Edward's. Their faces were only inches apart. I could see her breath moving wisps of his bronze hair.

Emmett was still awake, looking contentedly at the fire, often checking on Edward. I was surprised to see that Rosalie was sitting in his arms, her head resting on his shoulder, fast asleep. Her long blonde hair had halfway fallen from it's ponytail and hid half her face. Emmett was absentmindedly twirling locks of it between his fingers. I caught him lift a piece to his face and take in the smell of it. He caught my eye and smiled, unabashed. So, I thought, apparently they've forgiven each other.

It was strange, but as I had been coming up, it looked like Jasper had just sat down. Looking at him, he appeared to be flustered. It might have just been the heat from the fire, but his cheeks were very red, an embarrassed look on his face. I'm probably just misinterpreting it, I thought. Again. I could never read him. We seemed to be having a hard time getting to know each other. I sat next to him, putting some space between us, and took off his sweater. I handed it back to him

"Thanks for letting me borrow this, Jasper, I really appreciated that." I said earnestly. He slowly took it, a look of confusion in his grey eyes.

"You don't want it?" He asked. Oh how I adored Jasper. He was always thinking about others, always putting himself last. He was so selfless, so good and kind hearted. It was a shame he was so painfully shy.

"I don't need it anymore. My clothes are all dry." I told him.

He nodded. "Oh. Right." He stood and got more wood, banking the fire. "You should try to get some sleep." He told me. I yawned, nodding.

"Okay."

I stretched out next to the fire, enjoying the warmth in the chill night air. The sand made a horrible bed, and my arm an awful pillow, but I was so tired that it didn't take long for me to fall asleep. The last thought I had as I drifted off was that Jasper had the most beautiful grey eyes and the longest eyelashes I had ever seen.

The next morning I awoke feeling comfortable and warm and cozy. Someone had gone and gotten the long leather coat I had packed for Bella and draped it over me. I glanced around at the sleeping figures, wondering who was responsible for that act of kindness.

My eyes fell on Jasper, fast asleep. He looked so peaceful. All worry had left his face. It was now smooth, and there even looked to be the barest hint of a smile on his lips. His blonde hair fell forward into his face, moving a little with each breath he took. Had he put the jacket on me? I looked around at the others, unsure. They were all my friends and family… except for Jasper. He was the person I knew the least. He had the least amount of reason to do something like that. But looking at his pale, thoughtful face, his eyelashes standing out like brush strokes on his cheeks, I thought, maybe, just maybe, it was him…

_Author's Note: Hey everyone! Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed it. Please review! I'm hoping to get at least as many as I did for the last chapter. Hopefully tommorow afternoon I'll have a new chapter to put up, but it's hard writing 10 to 15 pages a night, you know? I could use all the encouragement I can get. Thanks!_


	7. Confession

_Author's Note: Hi everyone. I can't believe it's been so long since I've updated. College has been hectic, and I also work, so it's been difficult finding time to write. Sorry for the long hiatus! And thank you to everyone who continued to encourage me to update. I'm going to finish this story, don't worry. I've got another story idea, but I don't want to start it till I finish this one._

_Hopefully it hasn't been so long that you guys have forgotten what's happened. Or, maybe it's been so long that you don't mind re-reading the first six chapters. They're not too, too long. _

_My spring semester is almost over, so I'll have more time this summer to write, so updates will be much quicker. I'll try to have the story done before I go back to college in the fall. I wish I knew how long this story would be, but I have no idea. I kind of planned on it being one way, and now it's being completely another. Somehow, I think Jasper and Alice have stolen my heart and stolen the story. I'm going to have a lot more about them later on. _

**Jasper**

I was going to hell. That's all there was to it. I was a pervert and a peeping Tom. I flushed just thinking about it. Last night, I'd had no idea that she would take her clothes off. Honestly, the last thing I expected her to do was strip and run off into the ocean. But why couldn't I have looked away? I kept trying to tell myself that it was because I was worried something would happen to her, that I had to look after her safety, but I knew that wasn't completely true. Of course I wanted her to be safe, but when she started taking off her clothes, stripping down to only her bra and panties, I had been unable to look away.

Her figure was so slight and tiny and delicate. The way her bare skin glowed in the moonlight, and the way her hair had shone, had left me breathless. I caught myself staring at the smooth, feminine curves of her figure. I was transfixed by the dip in her back, by the hollow of her collar bone, the swell of her breasts.

I had barely made it back in time before her. Then… I rubbed the arms of my sweater bitterly, wishing it was still on her. I lifted it to my face and breathed in the sweet, feminine smell that she had left behind. The aroma was intoxicating. But why had she given it back? Did she no longer want something of mine wrapped around her? I berated myself. The day before she had been so nice, trying to make conversation with me. But I felt so nervous around her, and I never knew the right things to say. I tried to show her how much I cared by looking out for her, carrying as much of her load as I could, but it didn't seem to work. As the day went on, she seemed to get more and more frustrated with me. Last night proved that I had lost my chance. When I had sat down to talk to her and see if she was okay after what had happened to her brother she had immediately left.

Now the sun was up and we were all awake, sitting in front of the fire, eating a morning meal and watching Edward with worried eyes. She hadn't said a word to me. We decided to pick up where we had left off the day before. Bella agreed to stay with Edward and check her fishing trap. Alice and I set off toward the heap of a hut we had destroyed the day before. We worked in near silence, both of us edgy and overly polite. I accidentally brushed her shoulder with my arm and hurriedly apologized. She quietly thanked me for handing her what she needed, putting a safe distance between us. I felt awful. It wasn't supposed to be like this. She must know, I thought guiltily, refusing to make eye contact with her.

We decided to make lean-to's, at least for the time being. These were much, much simpler. We sunk the bamboo poles into the sand. They were about four and a half feet tall once we drove them into the ground as far as we could. Then we tied longer bamboo poles to them, leaning them together. The result was a small shelter shaped like a right triangle. We covered the sides with palm fronds and large leaves to make them weather resistant. The structures were strong, but small. They could only fit two people, and you couldn't stand in them. There was enough room to comfortably sit or kneel though, and they were long enough for even me to lay down in. Together, we built two more of the lean-to's, exhausted after our task.

We made our way into the jungle and walked in silence toward the spring. We each took long, refreshing drinks from the cool, clear water and ate sticky pieces of fruit that had fallen. We sat on a fallen log together, but felt worlds apart, or at least, I did. I couldn't stand it anymore. She knew and I knew that I had spied on her the night before. Maybe if I just brought it up, I'd be able to ease some of the tension. At the very least I owed her an apology. Selfishly, I also wanted to ease my conscience. What I had done went against my sensibilities. My southern mother, may she rest in peace, would have been appalled by my behavior. It was unseemly for a gentleman; it was utterly not chivalrous.

"Alice, I'm really sorry for watching you last night." I said in a rush, flushing. I couldn't look at her. I was hoping that we could put this behind us eventually if I just apologized. Alice looked at me quickly, frowning.

"For watching… what do you mean, Jasper?" she asked, her eyebrows knitting together. I felt my stomach drop out, and a feeling of dread spread over me. I chanced a glance back at her.

"I- I thought that was why you weren't talking to me…" I murmured. Alice's face softened.

"Jasper, I wasn't talking to you as much as usual because you never talk back to me. I thought you didn't like me."

I looked up at her and shook my head. "No," I said softly. "No, not at all."She smiled, the most beautiful sight I had ever seen. It lit up her whole face from within. "I'm so glad to hear that." she admitted. Her frown returned though. "But what do you mean you were watching me last night?" she asked slowly, a strange look in her eyes.

I didn't want to tell her. I didn't want to admit that I was a pervert and that I watched her undress. What would she think of me? I'd be lucky if she ever spoke to me again. I considered lying to her, but I just couldn't. After what I'd done to her, I would never add insult to injury by lying about it.

"I- I went after you last night." I admitted. "I was worried that something would happen to you."A look of dawning entered her face. "And what exactly did you see?" she asked quietly. I swallowed down the lump in my throat, my hands shaking slightly.

"Everything."

A small, choked sound came from her throat. Her eyes looked glassy, her cheeks were bright pink. She stood and started backing away, not taking her eyes off of me, her lip quivering, then turned sharply on her heel and fled.

**Rosalie**

Today was quite different than the day before. Last night, after seeing the hopeless, helpless look on Emmett's handsome face, I had gone to comfort him. I knew that we had our differences, but the look of sorrow and pain is universal, and it read all across his strong features. The line of his jaw was set, his eyes were tight, his hands clenched and unclenched. He feared for Edward. We all did, but it was certainly the worst for Emmett and Alice.

I had meant to only offer him a little bit of friendly comfort. I had put my hand on his arm, felt the warmth and the firm muscles moving beneath the tanned skin, and looked up at him. The contact brought a small smile to his face, and I was hooked. Seeing him have any amount of joy during all of this pain was like a drug. He was my heroin. I put my arm around his waist, leaning against him. This was as much for me as it was for him though. In his arms I felt at peace with the world. All of the stresses and worries that I'd been feeling since that god-forsaken yacht had sunk and we had been washed ashore melted away. His big strong arm around me was comforting and warm. We had fallen asleep like that, in each others arms. He had cradled me in his arms, my head resting on his chest, listening to his steady heart beat.

"Aren't _I_ supposed to be comforting _you_?" I asked with a sly smile. He rolled his eyes.

"Shut up and enjoy it, Rose."_Only my friends call me Rose, _I thought, and let it be.

Now we walked toward the SOS hand in hand, happy smiles on our faces. We had collected the sequined, shiny articles of clothing from the luggage to hang as flags on top of the piles of rubble. We were hoping that these would increase the chance of a plane or ship seeing us.

"Do you think Edward will be okay?" I asked, voicing the question no one had dared ask yet. Emmett threw a few more rocks on the pile, jaw clenched. He stayed silent for a while and I was starting to wonder if he had heard me. About to repeat my question, he suddenly answered.

"Edward has always been… strong." he said, dusting his hands off on his pants. "When he was a kid he never got sick. I remember I was with him once when he was learning how to ride a horse. He fell off it but said he was fine. My mother always worries and she made my father, who's a doctor, check him out. It turns out he had a broken arm- he never even cried." Emmett sat down on a large boulder, leaning back on his hands, head down. I sat next to him, lightly running my fingers across his back. "If anyone could handle this and come out okay, it's him." he said, then sighed. "I just hope we get rescued soon."

I looked out across the horizon with wistful eyes. "Me too." I sighed. "Me too."

**Bella**

Edward and I sat under a coconut tree in the shade, staring out at the ocean. Apparently, he was feeling a little better already. At least enough to make my job of looking after him more difficult. I had told him to just take it easy, but would he listen to me? Of course not. What do _I_ know?So he had stood up… and then quickly fallen down. He had been very bitter after that and had mentioned something about it being rude to say 'I told you so'. Well, I had certainly missed that memo. The fall had made his deep gash start bleeding all over again and I'd had to re-tie it. It was then that he became perceptive, the jerk.

"Why is you shirt torn in half?" he asked, staring unabashedly at my midsection. I quickly covered it with my arms, blushing. He was the last person I wanted seeing my boyish, no curves figure.

"You don't remember?" I asked. He shook his head. Good, then he wouldn't remember the embarrassing things I had said, if he had even heard them.

"Right after that boar gored you, I threw a rock at it and it ran away. When I got to you, you were bleeding really badly, and I'd heard you're supposed to put pressure on a wound, so I tore my shirt and tied you leg up really tight." I said with a shrug. I shifted my arms, trying to cover more of my pale abdomen. He caught the movement, and it only drew more attention to my figure. He smiled, flicking his eyes back to my face. Was he laughing at me? How rude! I thought.

"Thanks." He answered, cutting off my train of angry thoughts. I flushed in embarrassment. "Who knows what would have happened to me if you hadn't been there and done that, then gotten me back here." he said, his green eyes shining with gratitude. My breathing hitched and I felt like I was short of breath all of a sudden.

"No," I said, once I was able to form words again. What was he doing to me? What was wrong with me? "If I hadn't have been there, you wouldn't have had to jump in front of that boar to save me." I said quietly. "You looked like you had the situation pretty under control until I showed up."We were silent for a moment, lost in our thoughts.

"Bella, I'm glad you're okay." he said earnestly. "After the way I treated you, it was probably karma what happened to me."I laughed. "You must have done something way worse to deserve that!"

My stomach growled loudly and I looked at him in embarrassment. I knew that there was probably a fish in the net by now, but I didn't want to leave him to go find out. The net was pretty far away from us. It would take me too long. I frowned, then looked up at the coconut tree we were sitting under.

"Are you hungry?" I asked, standing up. He nodded.

"Yeah, I guess so. Why?"

I smiled, starting to shimmy up the coconut tree. "Want a coconut?" I asked.

"As long as you don't break your neck in the process." he replied, shielding his eyes from the sun to look at me. "We don't want Alice to completely lose it, right?"

I slowly climbed the tree, pulling myself up with my arms and holding on with my legs. I reached a branch and stretched my arm out, just out of reach of a coconut.

"Hold on tight, spider monkey." he warned with a laugh. I glared down at him.

"I know what I'm doing." I said, then slipped, but managed to catch myself. I inched forward a little more, and now I could reach the coconut. I tugged at it as hard as I could with one hand, and eventually it came loose.

"Look out below!" I called, dropping it as far away from him as I could. I shuffled back down the tree and showed him my prize.

"Now how are we going to open it?" I asked myself aloud. I chewed on my lower lip, thinking hard, then it came to me.

"Don't move a muscle!" I told him, dashing toward our suitcases. I popped mine open and pulled out a stiletto. "Perfect!" I breathed.

I went back to Edward and proceeded to whack at the coconut with the stiletto, to no avail. I got through the thick, green outer layer, but couldn't seem to crack the hard brown shell. I sighed in frustration.

"Let me try." said Edward, holding his hands out. I really doubted he could do any better, but handed them over anyway. He whacked it once, hard, and it split cleanly in half, the coconut milk spilling out onto the sand. I looked at him in surprise.

"Good job." I told him, taking the half he offered me. We ate slivers of coconut meat, and I noticed him starting to nod off. It wasn't long before he was completely out, wincing in his sleep every time he moved his leg. I just wished there was more I could do for him.

I had been watching him sleep for about half an hour, still in awe of how painfully beautiful he was, when Alice tore through the tree line and into my arms. Her already large, golden hazel eyes were now even wider with emotion and glassy with unshed tears. She barreled into me and I was hardly able to catch my balance in my kneeling position, but somehow I stood upright. I could feel her tiny, delicate figure faintly shuddering, humming with some strange emotion. I clasped her upper arms and gently prized her away- just enough to look at her.

Her face was white. It had lost all of it's normal coloring and now was chalky. My face crumpled into an expression of confusion and sympathy. My best friend was clearly very upset over something. Considering the predicament we were in, it could have been any number of things. Her lower lip was slightly protruding and it quivered. She sniffled and looked down, not meeting my eye.

"Alice- what's the matter?" I asked softly. Softly because I care for Alice, but also because Edward was fast asleep only feet away on the poorly constructed cot from the night before. I didn't want to wake him when he was finally getting a little bit of peace. If we couldn't get him medicine, then shade and sleep were probably the next best thing. God, what I wouldn't have given for some ice…

Alice snapped me out of my reverie. She sniffled again and a tear slid down her cheek. She quickly brushed it away with a sense of impatience. "Jasper." she said, as if that one word would explain everything. It was the last thing I expected to hear from her. I tried not to roll my eyes in irritation at Alice. How could she be upset that a guy wasn't absolutely fawning over her when we were in a situation like this? Couldn't she save her crush for a time when we were in a little less peril? Even as I thought it, I felt guilty. Alice was so light hearted and sweet. I felt awful for thinking such mean thoughts about my best friend. The heat was getting to me, I decided. Probably being around the infuriating Edward all day hadn't helped either, even if he was being a little bit nicer for the time being.

"Just give things time," I said, trying desperately to bite back the exasperation in my tone. I mostly succeeded. "I'm sure by the end of this he'll be just as in love with you as the rest of the male population is."I knew I sounded slightly bitter, but I couldn't help it. And really, it didn't bother me that Alice could make any male between the ages of twelve and sixty swoon with the bat of an eyelash. I was impressed, sure, but it was hardly something I was going to hold against her. The whole 'being stuck on a deserted island' thing was just getting me all antsy and impatient.

But Alice shook her head fervently and her tears redoubled, now falling in sync down both cheeks and clinging to her jaw. "No, it's not th-that." she stammered. Her voice broke, and so did my heart. Alice could always pull at my heartstrings. "H-he…He-"She shook her head, tight lipped, unable to go on. I put my hand on her shoulder, silently urging her on. My mind was now spiraling out of control, imagining the very worst possible scenarios. "Go on." I said, trying to sound patient.

She didn't speak immediately. She had to gather herself a little and take a few calming breaths before she found her voice again. "Last night I went into the ocean. I thought everyone was back at the fire, and no one would be able to see me. And I- I… Well, I stripped down to just my underwear."She raked in a shuddering breath before continuing. "And today, Jasper and I were having such a g-good time, and then he- he-" Her breath hitched. "He said he had watched me!"More tears came now, fast and hot and strong down her white cheeks. "He watched me take off all my clothes- he spied on me! And I trusted him! God, why am I so stupid? I don't know why I trusted him, Bella. I just, I thought he was different. And I wanted him to like me so badly. And now…. I don't think I can look at him the same way. He's not who I thought be was. I thought he was this nice, shy gentleman, you know?"She scrubbed the back of her hand across her face to wipe away the tears. A part of me wanted to defend Jasper. To say that he still probably _was_ a nice, shy gentleman. But _was_ he? Would a gentleman do that? "Why did I think he was different? Even Emmet wouldn't do something like that!" she said heatedly. I heartily disagreed but didn't think this was the best of times to tell her that. It sounded like Jasper was just a hot blooded male. At least he had told her…

"Maybe you should talk to him," I urged her gently. "What he did was disgusting and it violated your privacy, but we're going to be stuck on this island with him indefinitely, and I don't think he's _bad._ Maybe you should hear him out."Alice's opulent hazel eyes clouded with hurt. Her brow knitted and she took on a look of utter betrayal. I realized too late that I had apparently not said the right thing at all. "How can you say that?" she asked. She looked away, her cheeks flushing. "I feel so embarrassed." she said quietly, and then she stood, as if she could no longer stand to be in my presence. I felt wretched, but I'd already put my foot in my mouth and it was too late to take it back now.

"I have to go." she announced. "I need some space and some time to think."She strode off toward the water in the direction of the rocks. I watched her figure retreat and grow smaller then disappear behind a large outcrop of gray stone that was taller than her. I sighed and turned back to check on how Edward was doing.

Distrustful green eyes glared back at me. Apparently Edward was awake. But for how long? I was completely taken aback by the way he was looking at me. Before he'd looked at me with such kindness. It was amazing how quickly I had become used to that look. Now his expression was distrustful, as if I were some sort of traitor to be wary and contemptuous of.

"How can you defend him?" Edward asked coldly. At first I didn't know what he was talking about, and then I realized that he must have overheard my conversation with his sister.

"I don't think he meant her any harm." I said, an edge to my voice. I didn't like how he wouldn't even offer me the benefit of the doubt. He made me sound so stupid and I was instantly back to being irritated with him. "What good will it do her to stay mad at him? He's human, and they should just work this out."I crossed my arms over my chest and glared at him. He glared back. "He's a pervert to spy on Alice." he said contemptuously. A line of aggravation formed between my eyebrows.

"I thought Jasper was your best friend." I accused. He didn't wither under my scrutiny, but held his own.

"Yeah, well Alice is my sister. And blood is thicker than water.""So that's how it's going to be?" I asked.

"That's how it _is."_

We glared at each other in a silent battle of wills, both refusing to be the first to look away. Finally I got tired of staring into his alarmingly green eyes and looked away. I stood and walked a few yards away, sitting against the trunk of a tall palm tree. I wouldn't leave him the way he was- I'm not heartless- but I didn't want to be any nearer to him than necessary.

It was evident by his body language- the way he subtly leaned away from me and refused to even let his eyes wander over in my direction- that he didn't want to be near me either. He stared resolutely in front of him, mimicking my posture, leaning against a tree base. We were like two weathered statues on the beach, wedged into the sand and utterly immovable.


	8. Explanation

_**Author's Note: **__So, I didn't get as good a response for the last chapter as I usually do. I think I've lost my readers, which is really sad, but I guess I deserve it for putting the story on such a long break. Here's the next chapter, arriving on schedule. Also, if you guys would check out and review my new story, The Boy in the Attic, I'd really appreciate it._

* * *

**Alice**

The waves stretched out, gray and turbulent and as mysterious as His eyes. They crashed against the rocky beach in misty sprays and then receded back. My bare feet dipped into the cool waters as I sat on a smooth, flat rock. From this part of the beach I couldn't see Bella and Edward, which meant they couldn't see me either. I couldn't believe Bella. How could she defend… _Him? _After what he _did? _Bella was supposed to be my best friend in the whole wide world. I love Rosalie, but she's the last person in the world I'd go to with boy problems. Her boy problems are a whole different kind of stew. This was the time I needed my Bells. And she was siding with _him. _

I kicked the water angrily and it splashed back at me, wetting the lap of my jeans. The small hairs on the back of my neck stood up as I felt someone approaching. My mouth set into a thin line and I crossed my arms over my chest angrily.

"I don't want to talk to you." I announced. It annoyed me how even when I was angry, I couldn't seem to get my voice to sound firm. No matter my intent, my voice always sounded airy and sweet. Damnit, I didn't want to be sweet right then!

"What did I do?" asked the person behind me. I swung around to look into cynical blue eyes- not the dark, smoldering gray ones I had been expecting.

"Oh, Rosalie…" I said, giving her an apologetic smile. "Sorry, I thought you were Jasper."Rose sat down next to me, her knees drawn up to her chest. Her long blonde hair was pulled up into a messy, no-nonsense ponytail. I envied how she was already adjusting to our situation. Rosalie was so hard to rock. She has one hell of a temper, but it's hard to unsettle her. She seemed as at home here as back in Forks.

"And why wouldn't you want to talk to Jasper?" she asked, raising one eyebrow. There was a note of amusement in her tone. Leave it to Rose to find enjoyment from my sorrow. She sees the world differently than I do. Maybe that's why we get along so well. We're opposites, but we balance each other out. Bella is the soothing middle ground.

I considered my answer carefully, kicking at the water and the foam that licked at my ankles. "Because." I said childishly. "He's a jerk and a pervert and I trusted him. He completely let me down."I stared insolently out at the waves, but I could feel Rosalie's all-knowing gaze. "So, in other words, Jasper is a man?" she asked, as if for confirmation. She let out a short bark of derisive laughter. I didn't say anything, but I could feel my frown lines deepening. I swear, if this experience makes me wrinkle prematurely, I'm never going to forgive the others.

"Don't you even want to know what he did?" I asked. It was unfair for her to judge me when she didn't even know the story.

She shook her head, looking away from me and out into the distance, down the other side of the beach. An unusually wistful expression was on her face. I wondered why there was a trace smile pulling at her lips, but I doubted she'd tell me even if I asked. "No. No, not really." she replied. I made an angry sound in the back of my throat at this injustice and Rosalie stood while I simmered self-righteously. The next thing I knew, she was wrenching my up by my elbow. "C'mon. I'm sweaty and gross and so are you. We're going to take a bath."

**Bella**

Well this was just great. Back to square one, I decided, chancing a glance from the corner of my eye at Edward. How could anyone be so obstinate? I'd never met someone so infuriating in my entire life. The worst thing was, even though we weren't on speaking terms, I still felt indelibly drawn to him. How could I not? He'd saved me from the boar and gotten injured in the process. It was my fault he was stuck like this, hardly able to move, unable to walk or even stand. Maybe he was a jerk, but he was a brave jerk. He had proven that.

And what about me? I'd done nothing but prove to him that I was a baby and that I wasn't loyal to my friends. But c'mon, he should know Alice. This deep resentment she felt toward Jasper was surely nothing more than pent up frustration that he wasn't going gaga over her. She was always overreacting. She _needed_ a friend to be the voice of reason. Why couldn't Edward see that?

Because he didn't _want _to see that. I was convinced at this point that he just wanted to be mad at me. He hates me, I thought glumly. I had no idea what his standards were, but I obviously didn't meet them. I found myself wondering absentmindedly what Edward's type was. A mental picture formed in my mind of a statuesque blonde, fit and curvy in all the right places, unlike me. I imagined him with a girl who would smile at him knowingly, laugh at all his jokes, never piss him off as I so easily did. She would have to be graceful, I decided, not a klutz like yours truly, tripping her way through life.

In short, I imagined a girl that was everything I was not and would never be. I imagined Edward smiling with kindness and warmth the way he sometimes smiles at Alice, holding this faceless girl in his arms. Slowly, the face in my imagination began to take on definition. The hair darkened, her face became pale, and she had dark eyes, a serious expression. An expression I had often glimpsed in my very own mirror.

I was imagining Edward with _me. _

A throat being sharply cleared snapped me out of my fanciful and enjoyable reverie and I panicked for a moment, worrying that maybe I had said something from my imaginings aloud. I could picture Edward's mocking face so clearly that it hurt, but when I looked up it was only Rosalie, and Edward was fast asleep, looking peaceful and unbelievably handsome.

"Come on, me and Alice are going to go take a bath. You could use one yourself." said Rosalie, shampoo in one hand and conditioner in the other. A clean set of clothes was draped over her arm. I saw that behind her, studiously determined not to look at me, Alice was carrying a bottle of soap and also carrying some clothes.

I glanced at Edward, worrying. "You go without me. I don't want to leave him alone." I said. Rose rolled her eyes at me.

"He's not going anywhere. He'll be fine." she sighed. "And besides, Emmett will be back any minute."I chewed on my lip, debating. I didn't want to leave Edward, and not just because I thought he might wake up in pain and panic if he was alone. I also wanted to stay because I secretly loved to watch him sleep. I enjoyed the gentle rise and fall of his chest, the way his breath would sometimes move the strands of his bronze colored hair, and sometimes I would imagine that those soft smiles on his lips were meant for me.

Emmett appeared, chipper and grinning as usual. I thought I caught him wink at Rosalie, but she made no sign that she had seen the gesture. Her expression was impassive and I frowned, wondering what exactly was going on between them.

"Good, you're here." said Rosalie. There was nothing in her tone to suggest she had feelings for him. "We're going to take a bath, so you can sit with Edward."

"Aw, I can't come?" Emmett whined, looking suggestively between me and Rose. I could feel myself blushing. Alice slapped his arm.

"Don't be disgusting!" she accused, but there was a tiny grin on her lips. It vanished and her eyes suddenly narrowed. "Where's Jasper?" she asked suspiciously.

Emmett shrugged. "I dunno. But Jasper's a big boy, he can take care of himself."

Alice's expression darkened. "That's not what I'm worried about." she said, and stomped toward the tree line. Rosalie looked at me questioningly, one eyebrow raised, and I shrugged. I didn't have time to explain.

By the time we caught up with Alice, she was muttering to herself angrily next to the spring, laying out her things on a large rock. She put her hands on her slim hips, a stormy expression marring her normally chipper façade.

"Jasper, if you're out there, you better leave!" she shouted, her voice echoing through the thick trees. Rosalie looked bewildered, but I just frowned my disapproval. When Alice was satisfied with her shrewd inspection of the vicinity of trees, she started peeling off the sweaty layers of her clothes. I looked over and Rosalie was doing the same, setting her dirty clothes next to the spring, presumably to wash after she was done bathing. I blushed a bright, searing red when it became apparent that Rose had no qualms about modesty. Looking away, I was assaulted by the image of Alice, equally nude and slowly getting into the cold water. I'm sure my face was ten shades of red, and I had done nothing but fidget and twist my fingers nervously. The truth was, I felt completely inadequate next to my friends. Before now I'd been anything but fond of my flat, boyish figure, but now I realized even that assessment was kind, at least in comparison to Rosalie and Alice. I gulped and closed my eyes tightly as Rose passed me and I caught a glimpse of her, erm, assets.

"What are you waiting for?" asked Alice, and a hint of irritation remained in her voice. I frowned, reminding myself that the irritation wasn't meant for me, but it still hurt my feelings.

I timidly took off my shirt, hunching over to conceal as much of myself as possible. This was like gym class all over again, only so much worse. Then I reluctantly took off my jeans, which I realized were really quite disgusting from tromping around in the mud and sand for two days. Clothed in my bra and panties (the pretty peach set Alice bought me, thank god, and not the holey day of the week variety) with my arms crossed self-consciously over my stomach, I hurried over to the spring. Both girls were in up to their shoulders, working their hair into a lather with the shampoo they had brought along. Rose looked up at me, one eyebrow raised. "What do you think you're doing?" she asked, and for once I was so fed up that I wanted to tell her to put a lid on the attitude. But I took a shaky, calming breath and held my tongue.

"Bathing?" I said, as if this was obvious. Alice looked over at me, and her expression mirrored Rosalie's.

"Don't be ridiculous." she scoffed. "You're going to keep wearing the same pair of underwear?"

I bit my lip, shifting uncomfortably. "Maybe…" I said, unsure.

Alice sighed heavily, gesturing with her hand for me to drop trow. I gulped, hard. "Don't worry," she assured me. "We're all girls here."

I shivered in the breeze, even though it was really warm. "Okay, but you two have to close your eyes till I get in."Rosalie rolled her eyes, but they both agreed, humoring me. I didn't make a move till I was sure their eyes were tightly closed, and then I quickly slid off my underwear and jumped into the spring.

It was deeper than I was expecting and I came up spluttering, my arms flailing, long brown hair blinding me. Rosalie caught my forearm in her grip and pulled me to the edge where it was shallower. I ducked down so that the water would cover everything.

As we washed our hair and bodies, I began drilling Alice on what was happening with Jasper. "I just don't think he's a bad guy," I said, wringing out my hair and tying it into a messy knot on top of my head. "I think he made a mistake and that he's human. You should give him another chance."

Rosalie, who had now heard the whole story, nodded her head sagely. "Trust me honey, all men are pigs. The gentlemen just hide it better."

I wasn't so sure about that. I couldn't picture Edward looking at an indecent girl, for instance. He had a sense of age-old gallantry, even if he could be a complete jerk. Alice sighed heavily, leaning against the edge of the spring, and I noticed for the first time that her normally pale cheeks were a soft and endearing shade of pink.

"Alice, what's really the problem here?" I asked.

She bit her lip, looking down, avoiding my gaze. She was avoiding the question, but I knew that if I let her mull it over she would eventually answer. She didn't disappoint.

"It's just, well…" She took in a deep breath. "What if he didn't like what he saw?"

I'm not sure how my face looked when she said that, but I could feel an onslaught of different reactions. Confusion, understanding, disbelief, sympathy. Amusement.

"Are you serious?" I asked, and a grin was pulling at the corner of my mouth. Rosalie laughed beside me.

"That's ridiculous. If he's a red-blooded, non-relative male, he thinks you're hot." said Rose.

"But, if he thinks that, why does he act like I've burned him every time we touch, and why won't he say anything, and why does he avoid me like the plague?"Tears were welling up in her eyes, tears of frustration, and I realized that this had been the problem all along. She felt humiliated. Jasper had seen her in her underclothes and still he hadn't made a move. She felt like she wasn't good enough for him, like the reason he wasn't showing any interest was because he thought she wasn't good looking.

"Alice, I don't think that's it." I said weakly. She looked away, irritated, and climbed out of the natural pool.

"Well, you don't know any more than I do." she said angrily, pulling dry clothes onto her wet body. She stormed off, and Rosalie and I slowly got out and got dressed in silence.

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_**Please review!**_


	9. Advice

_**Author's Note: **Thanks for reading this far into the story, and thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed, especially the repeat reviewers. Thanks especially to music begins with em, mineymai, AmberSunshine, swimmer07 (Hope you did well on your finals!), purpleytk, ZoellaDeVil, Edwardlover0511, pluto-nfl, Edward-is-sexier-than-Mike (your username makes me laugh), yellhuzzah (you didn't sound like a you-know-what! It's okay, I agree), Rochelle Allison, and andrea-af91._

_This chapter is dedicated to Mickster for warming my heart._

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**Edward**

I wasn't asleep. I hadn't been for a long time. Instead, I was feigning gentle slumber and sneaking tentative glances from under my eyelashes at the girl that had somehow become my watcher. She was quiet, but I noticed that the strangest play of emotions seemed to cascade across her pale face, which was now tinged pink along her cheeks and the bridge of her nose from being out in the sun all day. I'd have to tell Alice to suggest to Bella that she wear some of the sunscreen my crazy sister had packed. It was a shame to mar such a beautiful ivory façade.

Every once in a while she would give a wistful sigh, slumping down a little as if she was sad. Other times, an endearingly soft smile would pull at the corners of her supple lips. I wanted so badly to know what she was thinking, to know what made her smile so secretively, as if she was thinking about something private and intimate. It was times like these I wished that I could read minds.

With everyone else, I was very good at reading them. I didn't even _need_ to be able to read their minds to know what they were thinking, but Bella was a mystery. She never did or said what I was expecting. This manner in which she kept me on my toes felt precarious yet thrilling. She was a mystery waiting to be unraveled.

Too bad I had alienated her at every opportunity. I chided myself now, as I listened to her insisting to Alice that she stay with me while they go and bathe. I felt like a total jerk. How could I have been so mean to this girl? It seemed absurd that I had accused her of using my sister. I saw now that the idea of her using _anyone, _much less Alice, was simply not possible- the girl was selfless. And she wasn't difficult, she was just… unexpected.

The booming voice of Emmett preceded his presence. I wasn't sure whether to be grateful to him for giving Bella a break, or annoyed because it meant I would no longer be able to be near her, wondering after her thoughts, enjoying the soft cleanness of her profile, or the way her mahogany hair looked like backlit amber in the hot rays of the summer sun.

"How long you been pretending to be asleep?" asked Emmett, plopping down onto the sand beside me. I opened my eyes and grimaced at him, looking around to see if the three girls were around, but they were already a safe distance away. Leave it to my brother to be surprisingly astute. He did, after all, know me better than almost anyone.

"A while." I admitted sheepishly, not making eye contact. Sometimes I got the feeling that Emmett was far wiser than he put off, but then he'd do something idiotic or childish and the notion would be blown.

"Why?" he asked, looking baffled.

I shook my head. "You wouldn't understand."

Emmett punched me in the shoulder, an indignant look on his face. Maybe I would have taken him seriously, but his curly brown hair was sticking up at all angles and was ruining the effect.

"Little boy, respect your elders." he commanded thunderously, but there was a grin on his tan face.

"My elders?" I asked skeptically, looking him up and down. "How much older than me are you? Five years?"

"That is five years more of life experience. Wars have been won in less time."

Childishly, I rolled my eyes. "Fine, I'll tell you, but you better not make fun of me, Emmett."

"Me? Make fun of you? Never!"

This I didn't believe for a moment. I sighed, running a hand through my hair, and sat up a little straighter. I winced, my leg throbbing in pain. I was doing everything I could to bear the pain and not make it seem so bad. I didn't want to worry the others when there was nothing they could do.

"Me and Bella aren't exactly getting along." I said. Emmett raised his eyebrows.

"Yeah, I know." he laughed. "That's not exactly a news flash, bro. You two have been at each other's throats like an old married couple."

"An old married couple?" I asked dubiously. "I think you've got the saying wrong. Old married couples are comfortable with each other, not constantly arguing."

Emmett looked at me like I was mentally deficient. "What time period are you living in, Edward? This isn't the 50's, and this ain't Leave it to Beaver."

I looked at him in disbelief. "Whatever," I sighed, and he laughed. "But the point is, I don't _want _to be arguing with her all the time."

Emmett sobered, frowning. "Then apologize." he said logically. "And stop being a prick."

"Hey!" I interjected. He shrugged.

"It's true."

I mulled this over sullenly. He was right, although I didn't want to admit it. To apologize was to admit that _I _was the one who was in the wrong, and my pride wouldn't easily allow that. I was so used to always being right, and now this Isabella Swan had to come into my life with her chocolate eyes and her suitcase full of silky lingerie and her infuriating mysteriousness and turned my world on its head.

Gah. Women.

Like they say: Can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em.

"What's going on with you and Rosalie?" I asked, suddenly remembering the odd behavior they had been exhibiting lately. It felt nice to shift the focus away from myself.

"Blondie?" he asked, then shrugged. "Nothin'."

I sighed raggedly, irritated. "Don't give me that. I told you about Bella!" I protested, burned by the injustice of it all. It wasn't fair for him to wheedle my secrets out of me and then clam up about what was going on with him

Again, Emmett merely shrugged, overly blasé. "It's true. Nothing has happened."

There was a grin on his face as he said this that didn't make sense to me. "And you're going to change that?" I guessed, raising my eyebrows.

Another shrug. "We're on a deserted island. I've got nothing but time."

How could he be so cool about all this? I envied his casual approach to relationships. I sometimes wished I was less serious, more like Emmett. Nothing phased him; everything slid right off like rain on a tin roof. He was the epitome of relaxed confidence.

"Blondie's something, though." he said, putting his hands behind his head and leaning against the trunk of a palm tree. His eyes closed, a content look settling over his features. "She's a little firecracker. What a temper! And god, what a body!"

I laughed. Same old Emmett, I thought. Location didn't seem to affect him much at all. I looked at him from the corner of my eye.

"Do you think mom and dad know our yacht sank yet?" I asked. He frowned and looked at me, the corners of his eyes crinkling in a rare exhibit of seriousness.

"I have no idea. If not now, they will soon when we don't come back in a few days. I'm sure they'll send people out looking for us. Knowing Esme, she'll send troops."

I stared out at the ocean. The sun was beginning to set and the horizon was a wash of peachy orange. The sun reflected off the blue-green water, and it was a beautiful sight. A comfortable silence stretched between us.

"What if they think we died?" I asked.

Emmett merely shrugged.

**Jasper**

I was surprised when Bella found me contemplating the lean-to's that Alice and I had constructed. I had spent the day by myself, wandering the island listlessly. I had not been able to do a full circuit of it, which led me to believe that the tropical oasis in the middle of the ocean was fairly large. Why hadn't it been charted? I had not seen a single piece of evidence that might have meant the island had inhabitants. There was none of the regular human litter, no artificial clearings of trees… nothing. I had done my inspection in solitude, and that was fine with me. I was a solitary person by nature; introverted, pensive. I also needed time to digest all that had happened and was sure to happen soon.

It amazed me that considering the predicament we were in, the thing I was the most concerned about was Alice. Normally I considered myself level headed. I could see reason- I was realistic. But where she was involved, I found that my defenses were torn to shreds and that everything I thought I knew no longer applied. She was the exception to every rule.

I wished that I could be more concerned with us being rescued. I knew, logically, that was the bigger problem. It would have been a _relief _to only have to worry about survival. On top of that, I had just encountered the only girl to ever make my pulse race. Worse yet, we didn't seem to understand each other at all. She mistook my tongue-tied, nervous silence and natural soft-spoken demeanor for dislike, or even worse, indifference. How could anyone feel indifferently about Alice?I had no confidant to turn to. As Alice's brother, Edward was no longer an option. The only other male, Emmett, who seemed nice enough though I hardly knew him, was also her brother. That left Bella and Rosalie. I instantly ticked Rosalie off the list in my mind- that wasn't an option. There was Bella, but I knew she was also Alice's confidant. It was unfair to ask her to help me, and I was sure she was taking her best friend's side. I couldn't blame her. On this island, I felt like enemy number one. Everyone, particularly the girls, was high strung, and I had managed to make a royal mess of things. How did I of all people manage to add fuel to the fire? I'd never been involved in a drama in my life.

"Jasper," called Bella, walking over to me. I set down the palm frond I had been trying to fix to the side of one of the shelters. I had my doubts as to how weather-resistant they were, and I didn't want the test to be them toppling over in the first rain storm.

"Hello Bella." I said quietly, a guilty note to my voice I didn't bother to disguise. By now I was sure she knew the whole story. She gave me a sympathetic smile, and I appreciated her kindness, although I didn't feel like I deserved it. I liked the aura that Bella gave off- she had an unusually kind quality that made her seem easy to talk to. I had a feeling that if this current situation could be put aside, I might have a future friend in Bella.

"Where have you been all day?" she asked me. "No one's seen you since this morning."

An odd, guilty look crossed her face, and the words 'not since you upset Alice' hung unspoken in the hot, humid air. I noticed that she had changed clothes, and she looked fresh scrubbed. She had on a pair of shorts and a tshirt, the short sleeves scrunched up to her shoulders. Her hair, which had been down before, was now in a braid down her back. Her natural beauty was well suited to the tropical climate of the island, but no matter how pretty and nice she was, I found that I felt nothing like the way I felt around Alice.

"Sorry, I hope I didn't worry anyone." I murmured softly, kicking my toe into the sand. She frowned and then shook her head.

"It's not that, Jasper." she replied weakly, and I got the impression that she wanted to say something else. She waited expectantly and I remembered that I hadn't answered her question yet.

"I took a better look around the island. I thought I should probably give Alice some space after… well, after what I did."

Bella cracked a smile, but I hardly thought the situation was funny. She dropped down gracelessly into the sand, looking up at me, and then gestured for me to sit across from her. Slowly I lowered myself down so that I sat opposite from her, a few feet between us.

"Jasper, Jasper, Jasper," she sighed. "The last thing Alice wants right now is space. In fact, I think there is rarely a time she wants space. She's social- she, unlike you, doesn't like to be left alone. In fact, I have a feeling she'd rather be… How do I say this?" she pondered.

She paused, chewing on her lip, trying, apparently, to be diplomatic. She was walking a fine line by helping me. If Alice found out, she would probably not be pleased. Bella needed to put everything in a positive light, lest she seem disloyal. Finally she shrugged, palms aloft.

"Alice would rather be chased, Jasper." she told me. "She wants to be chased by _you._"

I could feel surprise flickering over my face and I tried to carefully compose my features, but I knew I was a moment too late. "Chased?" I asked, having to clear my throat to get the words to come out.

Bella smiled apologetically. "She thinks that you don't like her at all."

"That's not true though!" I protested, and this was probably the strongest statement I had made in a while. Bella looked taken aback for a second but then nodded her approval.

"_I_ know that. But _she_ doesn't know that. You and Alice are operating on two different wave lengths right now. She's tuned to FM and you're an AM station."

I frowned at her analogy, then nodded mutely. "I've made a mess of things." I said quietly, looking down at the sand. Bella picked herself up off the ground.

"Don't worry. She'll forgive you." she assured me, much more positively than I felt. And Bella left me to my thoughts.

**Alice**

The others were eating their dinner and enjoying the sunset. Bella had disappeared for a while, but now she was back. We were all grateful to Bella for her fish trap. The protein was much needed sustenance after a diet of almost all sugary sweet fruit. We divided the three fish and ate greedily, but Jasper's portion remained untouched. He never showed up and I started to worry, though I refused to admit it to anyone.

Emmett went and refilled the water case and we all drank deeply from it, then a conversation about our predicament started up. They all discussed their fears and worries, their experiences on the island and what the next step was. There was an unusually amicable mood. For once Edward and Bella weren't bickering, and I could tell that Rose was secretly eating up the flirtatious, playful attention that Emmett was lavishing on her.

Finally, the joviality got to be too much for me. It was just reminding me that I was the only one not on good terms with everyone. Well, no, that wasn't strictly true. But I felt singled out and alone.

"I'm going to go sit by the rocks." I told the group, standing up. The fire we all sat around was now a beacon of light in the darkness. The sun had disappeared and the sky was purple-black. The stars hadn't come out yet, but there was still enough light from the horizon that I could see my path.

They bid me goodbye and told me to be careful, and before I was even gone they had resumed their conversations. I hurried away, a feeling of despair sinking over me. I crossed the beach and settled on the same flat rock as before, but didn't dip my toes in the water this time- it was getting to be a little chilly now that the sun had set.

I drew my knees up to my chest and rested my chin on them, staring out at the black waves. How had this all happened? I couldn't believe that I of all people was out here alone. I normally was so social; I got along so easily with people. I was a true social butterfly. But my nerves were frayed. I was scared we were going to be stuck on this island forever, I was scared we would die here. I missed my parents, and I missed my posh, comfortable life. I wouldn't admit this to anyone, but I really wanted to go shopping. Before when I got stressed out, a little retail therapy fixed everything. That stress was nothing compared to the stress I felt now, and there wasn't even a Gap on this god forsaken island!

I looked disconsolately at the cute little summer dress I was wearing that I had picked out especially for the trip. Now it was going to get ruined, and it's cuteness would be wasted. It didn't matter what I looked like here. No one here cared if I had on pedal pushers with wedges and an adorable tank top or if I was wearing a grass skirt and coconut bra.

I sighed, lowering my face onto my knees, and closed my eyes tightly. A cool wind blew past and I shivered in my thin cotton dress, but I wasn't ready to go back yet, even though a crackling fire beckoned. I was completely lost in my thoughts, oblivious to the outside world.

A warm hand brushed against the bare skin of my shoulder. Just the fingertips, and ever-so-softly, but it drew me from my reverie. A tingle ran down my spine and I lifted my head.

"_Alice_," said a soothing, tentative voice from behind me. I felt my heart skip a beat, and my breath caught in my throat. "_Can I talk to you?"_

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**Please Review!**

_Also, if anyone is curious about what the characters are wearing, I'm going to be putting up links to pics on my profile. Alice is such a shop-a-holic, and what they're wearing is so important to her I've decided to include that. I'll try to have some pics up today (5-11-09)_


	10. Bravery

**Author's Note:**_ Here it is, everyone! This chapter went through a lot of drafts, and I have several different versions of it where there are different endings. I just couldn't decide what I wanted to happen in this chapter! Hopefully you guys will like the version I chose._

_Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter- all your kind words of encouragement and your helpful tips meant a lot to me! Special thanks to Babette 12, Zoella de Vil, tommys21, Zoey Redbird, I-love-men-who-sparkle, purpleytk, gottverdammit, Rochelle Alison, swimmer07, , the wonderful Mickster, music begins with em, andrea, and yellhuzzah. _

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**Rosalie**

The fire crackled in the cool night air, fighting off the slight chill that surrounded us. We all huddled around the fire, feeding it sticks and twigs and fallen branches that Emmett had broken into manageable pieces earlier that day.

There was an air of camaraderie tonight, and for once our situation didn't seem so dire. We had survived the night, we had made a fire, and we had food to eat and clean water to drink. All in all, we hadn't done half bad.

The fish was long gone and my stomach rumbled hungrily for more. I could tell the others were still hungry too. Bella was cradling her concave stomach in an unconscious gesture, and Emmett had a wistful look in his eye every time he glanced over at the fish bones. We had all worked hard today, and we were burning more calories than we were consuming. Oddly, the only one who didn't seem hungry was Jasper. He had appeared momentarily before disappearing again, and had forfeited his portion, not even sparing it the slightest interest.

Jasper was the tallest and thinnest of us all. I thought of anyone that be would be the most hungry- he didn't exactly have much of a store of fat to live off of. But he seemed preoccupied, and Emmett had convinced us all that he would be okay. We had split his meager portion four ways, but were left none the fuller.

Still, despite our aching hunger, things had calmed down. Bella sat beside me and the boys across from us, and we were all laughing over something stupid Emmett had said. I was French braiding pieces of Bella's long brown hair to tie back like a halo around the back of her head, and then I noticed the strangest thing.

Emmett was the only one talking now, and Edward was staring across the flames at Bella as if she were an angel, as if he had never seen her before. She caught his eye and blushed, looking down, and his smile slightly increased before he looked away. I smiled to myself, tying off Bella's hair. I patted her back and told her I was done, and she scooted away a little back to the place she had occupied before.

She yawned, stretching her arms up over her head, and sleepily declared that she was tired. I nodded my head. "I think it's time we all go to bed." I said. The moon was high in the black, starry sky. I had no idea what time it was, but we were all exhausted.

"What about Alice and Jasper?" asked Bella.

"They'll be fine." Edward assured her, reaching out as if to touch her hand, but he pulled it back at the last second. "Jasper will take care of her. I trust him."

A silent moment seemed to pass between Bella and Edward, as if they were speaking telepathically. Bella's wide brown eyes were questioning, and Edward shrugged in an apologetic manner. I had a feeling this was an exchange only they would ever understand.

We got up, Edward with the assistance of Emmett, and made our way over to the lean-tos Alice and Jasper had constructed. They were simple and small, but they looked fairly sturdy. Whether they would weather the weather or not, I had no idea, but they at least looked like they wouldn't come crashing down on our heads in the night.

"Goodnight," Bella said to the boys, and then looked at me questioningly. "Are you coming?" she asked, heading toward the nearest shelter. I nodded, waving her on.

"I'll be there in a minute." I assured her, and she ducked down into the shelter. Emmett was helping Edward into the next one, and I could hear Edward's labored breathing. I did not envy him the pain of such an injury, particularly on an island with no medicine. But, there was nothing to be done other than keep it clean, which Bella had been helping with stringently. She kept the water pail continuously full, and she had poured water over his wound every few hours. I knew she felt as if she was responsible for the injury, but she was the only one blaming herself.

Emmett emerged from the lean-to a moment later, and I could see him smile at me in the darkness. Silently I walked back toward the fire, and I could hear the soft sound of feet padding through the sand behind me. A few seconds passed, and a warm hand caught mine. I looked back over my shoulder at Emmett in surprise, but he was staring straight ahead at the fire we walked toward.

I opened my mouth to protest, but the complaint died on my lips. Did I really mind? If I was honest with myself, I liked the feeling of his big, warm, calloused hand around mine. I'd never had a person hold my hand before, I realized. Hand-holding was just not something men ever tried with me. Groping, yes. Holding hands… that was a big hell no. They were interested in different things, and I thought that was normal. I never missed what I never had, and I realized now that I had never had romance. Not that this was romance, exactly, but it was such a sweet, innocent gesture, and so unexpected from the big, easy going beast of a man beside me.

We reached the fire and he plopped down in the sand, pulling me down by the hand he held into his lap. His tug caught my off balance and I tumbled down onto him, collapsing into a fit of laughter that he quickly joined in on. My giggles and his deep, rumbling laughter were a symphony in the night. Emmett helped me get my tangled body into his lap, and I snuggled in. I fit there as if we had been made together, my back fitting snugly against the strong, broad expanse of his chest. His hand let go of mine and his arms circled around me. His embrace was firm, but not tight. Being held by Emmett was oddly comforting. I had the fire at my front, and the warmth of his strong body to my back. I was encased in a circle of warmth.

"You've done great, Blondie." said Emmett, and I slapped the arm that was wrapped around me. He laughed. "You've really kept your cool."

I shrugged. "I know." I replied.

Again, he laughed, amused by what I had said. My arrogant nature didn't offend him, I realized with a mixture of relief and chagrin. It _amused _him.

"Alice and Jasper-" I started, but he cut me off.

"Let's not talk about Alice and Jasper." he said quietly, and I felt his warm breath and soft lips on the curve where my neck met my shoulder. I shivered even though I wasn't cold, and his lips moved up my neck in a trail of feather-light kisses, almost like a caress, and he softly, playfully, bit my earlobe. I could sense his smile even though I couldn't see it.

I turned around in his lap, catching his lips against mine, and a shiver of pleasure coursed through us both. He steadied me with one strong arm around my waist, and the other softly cupped my cheek. I had one hand on the arm that held me, and the other was twisted into his curly hair, enjoying the soft springiness of his dark locks between my fingers.

I increased the pressure of my lips against his and my lips parted, my tongue seeking entrance to his mouth. I felt his body give a slight jolt, and then his mouth yielded under mine.

If before I had possessed the upper hand, he took it now, pulling my body around so that I was straddling him, not turned sideways in an awkward embrace. His hand firmly cupped the dip in my waist and the hand on my cheek moved to the back of my neck, pulling me closer with a sense of confidence. The way he moved his lips and tongue made my body feel like it was on fire. I had never felt a kiss like this before. This felt powerful and intimate and all consuming. In the blackness of the night, it felt like there was only us. The rest of the world that was outside the circle of light cast by the fire had disappeared and ceased to exist.

His fingers stroked my side as he kissed me, my head tilted slightly to the side so I could reach him better, and I softly moaned in delight and desire. My body wanted to much more, and I put my hands on his shoulders, pushing him backward. I didn't allow our mouths to separate, but we were both now sprawled in the sand beside each other. My hands moved away from his shoulders and moved down his chest, feeling the strong, defined hardness of his chest and abdomen, separated only by a thin layer of material, and then my fingers found the buckle of his belt, which I quickly started unfastening.

Strong, warm hands gently took hold of my own, pulling them away, and his lips stopped too. I pulled away from him in surprise, and he frowned back at me, his lips parted as if he wanted to say something but didn't know exactly what.

"Rosalie," he said finally, his normally booming voice quiet in the night air. I could hear the waves crashing, could hear our labored breathing, could hear my own heart pounding wildly in my chest. "We don't have to rush this." he said, and I looked at him in disbelief.

This man was turning me down? I had never been turned down in my life! Who in the world did Emmett Cullen think he was?! I sat up, pushing the hair out of my face, and stood, dusting the sand off of my hands. I threw him a disgusted look.

"Rosie!" he protested as I started walking away. "Rosie!" he called again, but I didn't look back. I didn't look back the whole way, and when I got to the shelters, I ducked silently into the one I would be sharing with Bella.

_Fuck you Emmett Cullen, _I thought viciously, laying next to Bella and tightly crossing my arms over my chest. _Fuck you and your soft lips and your strong hands and the fact that you're the only man I've ever met who doesn't want to have sex with me._

What had I done wrong?

**Jasper**

I was infinitely grateful to Bella for her help, but I wished that she had somehow been less vague. If only she could have told me what to say and what to do. I was no good with this sort of thing, and I was worried that even if I tried to make amends to Alice now that I would just make it worse. To me, the situation felt hopeless. Still, it was unlikely to get _worse_ if I tried to resolve it. I couldn't imagine anything worse than her being mad at me.

I wanted so badly to make her happy! I had never felt this way before, and I didn't consider myself to be one who rushes into things. Yet here I was, behaving more brashly than I could ever remember, thinking of ways to make Edward's sister not hate me.

No, that wasn't all. I didn't simply want for her not to hate me. I wanted so much more. I wanted to talk to her and share the secrets of my life with her. Very few people knew very much about me. I was even still somewhat of a mystery to Edward, who never pushed me for more than I was willing to share. But Alice would push me, and I knew this. She would push me till I could no longer stand up to the power of her tiny, mighty force, and I would relent and tell her about my past. And a weight would be lifted.

I wanted her to tell me her secrets, too. I wanted to know all about her hopes and dreams and ambitions, and what she was afraid of. I wanted to shield her from the world and I wanted desperately to help maintain the childlike innocence she possessed.

We were opposites, she and I. She was outgoing and innocent. I was reclusive and jaded. But perhaps these attributes would balance each other out. To me, Alice seemed like a light at the end of the tunnel- a light in my dark life. She had the power to bring out the good in me. She was the type of person that had the power to get me to try new things, to open up to people. Alice was everything I needed.

The sun began to set and I snapped out of my reverie guiltily, gathering the sticky sweet pieces of fruit I had gathered for the group in an extra shirt I had brought along to use as a sling. It was a longer trek back to camp than I expected, and I realized I had wondered quite a distance away. I was surprised that Bella had been able to find me. It must have taken her a long time, I thought, and I felt even more grateful to her.

When I made it back, everyone was gathered around the crackling fire, joking and laughing and smiling. I approached cautiously, not wanting to ruin their jovial mood or upset Alice, but I realized as I drew closer that Alice wasn't there.

I set down my load next to the water and they offered me a piece of the fish Bella had caught. I wasn't hungry- I was too preoccupied with other things to notice what my body was telling me. I told them they could have my portion, and I wandered away again, this time in search of Alice.

Part of me was glad she had distanced herself from the group. It would be so much easier to talk to her if I didn't have an audience. On the other hand, I also knew that if Alice was by herself, there was probably something wrong. She had to be upset, and I had a feeling I knew why. I looked down at the ground guiltily and swallowed back the lump that had formed in my throat.

I went in the direction Bella had slyly indicated to me with a subtle nod of her head. I looked out at the craggy rocks but saw no sign of her slight figure in the silvery wash of pale light cast by the moon. I continued on, using the time to practice in my head what I was going to say.

_Alice, I'm really sorry I've been so awful. You make me really nervous, and I'm a nervous person already…_

No, that wouldn't do.

_Alice, I'm sorry about watching you strip down to your underclothes last night. The view was amazing, but I feel really guilty…_

No, definitely not.

_Alice, I-_

I stopped dead in my tracks and dead in the middle of my thoughts. I had found Alice. Her head was resting on her knees, her dark hair hiding her face from view, but there was a tragic, almost tangible sadness about the way she sat that was heart breaking. I approached her tentatively, not wanting to startle her. She didn't notice when I stood just a few steps behind her, made no sign she even knew I was there. Slowly I reached out and brushed the tips of my fingers over the smooth, pale slope of her shoulder, marveling at the softness of her skin, and how cold it was from sitting out in the darkness away from the fire.

"Alice," I said, as my fingers reluctantly pulled away from her incandescent skin. She lifted her head and turned to look at me, her opulent hazel eyes wide with wonder. They were a dark, liquid shade of golden green. "Can I talk to you?"

She seemed to battle internally for a moment, torn between hearing me out and leaving. I couldn't blame her. But finally she acquiesced and nodded mutely.

Slowly I sat down, a few feet between us, a few feet I desperately wanted not to be there. It felt like there were worlds between us in those few feet, and that we were drifting farther and farther away all the time. Conversely, I felt magnetically drawn to the pixie like girl beside me, and when her dark golden eyes flickered up at me through an inky black fringe of long eyelashes before hurriedly dropping back down to her lap, I thought my heart might stop all together.

Her thin shoulders were hunched in, as if she was trying to disappear into herself. A soft, cold wind swept past us and caught at the fine strands or her dark hair. She shivered, wrapping her bare arms around herself, and I saw her look at me for a moment from the corner of her eye. Her mouth remained in a thin, tight, unhappy and tense line. I almost smiled at the pout she wore, and the way her lower lip protruded in an adorable, almost cartoon-ish way.

I didn't say anything at first, but I pulled my arms out of the soft, light blue sweater I had been wearing, the one I had leant to her before. The long sleeves had enveloped her hands, and it had hung to her mid-thigh, but I had never seen a more endearing sight. Now, as I pulled the sweater over my head and shyly offered it to her, I worried first that she wouldn't want something of mine, and second that if she did take it, that it would smell from over two days of wear.

It smelled alright to me, I thought, subtly bringing it closer to my nose and inhaling as I pulled it over my head, but I had been wearing it for a few hours today. Maybe I was just used to it? I was glad now that I had brought it, but that I hadn't worn it in the hottest hours of the day. If I had been wearing it while I worked, it surely would have smelled like sand and sweat.

Alice looked at the sweater that I held out to her, and then up at me. Our eyes met and locked for a moment, golden green against dark gray, and I could feel how unsure of me she was. Her emotions emanated off of her like the waves of the ocean, and her thoughts read clearly across her open face.

_Should I trust him?_

_Is this a trick?_

_Am I going to get hurt?_

I understood with a new sense of understanding the truth behind the saying that a heart could be broken. I had never suffered a broken heart before, but the analogy suddenly made sense. When I looked at her face and saw that she didn't trust me, that she thought I might hurt her, I felt like my heart might break. And what was worse, I worried I may have already done damage to her own, without even intending to.

"I didn't mean to hurt you." I said softly after we both dropped the intense gaze we had held with one another. She still hadn't taken the sweater, even though I could see goose bumps on her arms from the cold, misty air. It hung between us like a white flag billowing in the wind. Would Alice accept my surrender?

Because I would gladly surrender to her.

My arm began to ache from holding the article aloft for so long, but I didn't lower it. Her head was bowed, looking at the cracks in the rocks we sat on, and my eyes were on her, pleading silently. Finally she looked up, her eyes glassy. Were they glassy with tears?

And she took the sweater from my hand.

She held the still warm material in her small, nimble fingers, bunching the fabric nervously, feeling the texture, as if she was still struggling internally. Why wouldn't she put it on? She just held it in her lap, stroking the softness of the material, fidgeting with the article of clothing.

"Didn't you?" she asked, golden eyes fiery.

I shook my head slowly, a dent forming between my eyebrows as I frowned. "The last thing in the world I want is to hurt you Alice." I said honestly. Her eyes brimmed with self-righteous tears, and I worried this had somehow been the wrong thing to say.

"Why?" she asked, and I was taken aback.

Why? Why would I never, ever want to hurt her? God, she was intuitive. Even _I _wasn't sure I knew the answer to that question. Why _did _I care so much about this person I knew so little about? "I'm not sure…" I answered honestly, and she sniffled angrily, looking away. "But I know it's true. I-"

I paused, my voice catching in my throat, and I wasn't sure what I had been about to say. She still wasn't looking at me, and my eyes dropped to her small, pale, articulate hands and the sweater she held almost lovingly.

My voice lowered, got even softer, and I wasn't sure she would hear me. My voice was almost lost over the soft roar of the waves. "Alice, I've never met anyone like you before." I told her, my voice slightly shaking. I pressed on, closing my eyes tightly, my hands balling into anxious fists. "When I'm with you I'm different, and I really like that. I really like _you."_

A moment passed by, a painful moment in which nothing happened, and I feared that at any moment she was going to scream at me. My eyes were still tightly shut, my head lowered in shame and cowardice. And then I felt a small, cold hand lightly touch the tight fist at my side. My eyes opened in surprise and the tension left my body in a single jolt.

Across from me, a very soft, unsure smile on her face, a questioning look in her golden eyes, was Alice. And wrapped around her was a soft, light blue sweater.

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_**If you liked what you read, please review :-)**_


	11. Tylenol

**_Author's Note: People asked for more Bella and Edward, and here it is. Sorry that their romance has been lacking a little bit lately. I didn't mean for them to go on the back burner, but now they're back, front and center. For all you Bellward fans, I hope you enjoy this chapter._**

Thank you to everyone who reviewed, including Babette 12, music begins with em, I'llAlwaysBeInEdwardsColdArms, booklover42, LaBellaed'Italie, Pluto-nfl (sorry about the double reply), Andrea-af91, -WingedGirlFlyLady-, the wonderful Mickster, Jessica, Little-Miss-Giggle-Fit, Liz526, Zoey Redbird, Swimmer07, yellhuzzah, quickreader93, Purpleytk, edwardlover0511, kwfreeman, Zoella De Vil, Lorri-cullen, Luvntwilight, and LPsDarkAngel. Sorry to anyone I might have missed! 

**_This chapter is dedicated to Rochelle Allison, whose kindness could bring even Jasper out of his shell :-)_**

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**Emmett**

Blondie just needed some time to cool off and she'd get over this. That's what I told myself that night, and that's what I told myself the next morning. Chicks sometimes just need time to cool down. And chicks like to be chased. I know the rules of the game, and I've seen her type before. She thinks just because I don't want to nail her the first chance I get, that I'm not into her. Really, it couldn't be farther from the truth. Every time I rush into things with a girl, it never works out. And I like Blondie, so I figure I'll try something different this time.

There's also kind of another problem, but I can't tell her about it. I can't tell anyone else, either- I'd never live it down.

I slowly blinked my eyes open to the light bursting into the small shelter and looked beside me at the small, curled up figure that had taken up residence in the lean-to some time last night after I had gone to bed. Alice was still sleeping, a peaceful look on her face that I hadn't seen since our yacht had gone down to the bottom of the deep blue sea to join ranks with the Titanic. I had no idea how late she had stayed up, so I carefully crawled out, trying to disturb her as little as possible.

Jasper was already awake, but this looked like a recent development. His gray eyes were tired and had bags under them, there was a stressed, worried look on his face that seemed to be a constant, and his blonde hair- usually rumpled and in a constant state of disarray- was even more of a mess than usual. I gave him a weak wave and he yawned, nodding his head at me. I stood and stretched, not looking away from him. He looked down uncomfortably, feeling the pressure of my gaze. I walked over to him, crossing my arms over my chest like a bouncer at a club.

"If you _ever _upset my baby sister like that again, the story when they find us is going to be that you drowned."

He looked up in shock, his mouth slightly agape, eyes wide and traveling over my face. I couldn't take it- a grin broke through.

"Naw, I'm just kidding you, Jasper." I said with a hearty laugh. "Alice gets upset over a broken nail. I wouldn't take it personally."

Suddenly, I lost all hints of humor and I lowered my voice. "But you better watch yourself. You may be Edward's best friend, but remember Alice is our _sister._"

I gave him a very stern look and walked toward the jungle. Nature was calling, and Jasper looked like he was about to have a stroke or something, and I didn't feel like sticking around to explain that _I _was the cause.

**Bella**

I was abruptly awakened by Rosalie's arm hitting me in the face. I rolled over with a groan to see that sleeping beauty was still, well, _asleep. _But man that girl could pack a punch, even unconscious. She was a force to be reckoned with, and I was just glad she was in a better mood the day before. I had Emmett to thank for that, I was sure.

I crawled out of the lean-to, my bones creaking and popping, and looked up at Jasper, who was looking into another of the small shelter's with a worried frown. He leaned into it and I couldn't see what he was doing, so I walked over.

"What's the matter?" I asked, trying to see past him. When I did, I instantly realized what was wrong. Edward was even paler than usual, as if all blood had drained from his face. He was a sickly white, and covered with a sheen of sweat. His eyelids looked glossy red and his lips were pale. His dark, bronze-colored hair was matted to his head, and his eyes were closed, a deep frown line settled between his eyebrows.

"He's burning up." replied Jasper, looking over his shoulder at me. He hung his head, his shoulders and hands tensing. "He needs medicine."

There was an air of hopelessness about him that made me want to sit down in the sand and cry, but I resolved to be strong. Or, at least _act _strong. Having a fit of hysterics would not help anything.

At that moment, Alice woke up and came out with a huge yawn and a smile toward me and Jasper that disappeared when she saw our faces. She hurried over and pushed past Jasper, throwing her tiny body into the shelter beside her twin brother. She touched his forehead and cheeks with an abysmally sad expression and then hugged him tightly.

"Why is he like this?" she asked, eyes darting from me to Jasper and back to me again. "He was doing better yesterday! He was okay!"

A sob left her lips and she drew in a shuddering breath, refusing to cry and let her sorrow spill in hot, wet drops on her ailing brother. "We- we have to do something! W-what can we do?"

I looked at Jasper and he looked back at me, softly shaking his head. Rosalie must have been woken up by all the noise we were making, because she came out and quickly assessed the situation. She pushed the blonde strands of hair out of her face and then put her hand on her out-thrust hip, grinding her teeth together as she concentrated.

"He's not getting any fresh air in there. Let's move him out and into some shade where he can catch a bit of breeze every once in a while."

We all stood frozen for a moment and then seemed to move as a unit. Jasper ducked into the shelter and wedged himself under Edward so that Edward was sitting up. His eyes fluttered open and for a moment I saw a flash of disconcerted, hazy green, but then his eyes closed again and his head lolled to the side. Jasper's arms were under Edward's, and I took hold of his legs, half pulling, half lifting him out of the lean-to.

"Alice, go make him a bed in the shade out of some clean clothes." said Rosalie, and Alice scurried away. I felt grateful that Rose was able to take charge even in stressful, dire situations. She was a leader at heart, and we needed leadership badly. Her blue eyes roamed the small camp and she frowned.

"Where's Emmett?" she demanded, looking at me and Jasper. Jasper nodded toward the woods and Rosalie threw up her hands in exasperation. "Great, he's out there having a picnic while his brother's dying." she growled. My heart skipped a beat and I could feel the blood draining from my face.

"Dying?" I asked, my voice a hoarse whisper. Rose's eyes widened as if she had just realized what she had said, and her mouth snapped shut. She took a few steps forward and put her hand on my shoulder, trying to be comforting. I was unfeeling though, and it did no good. I felt like a ghost, or out of body, as if I was merely watching these events and not actually living them.

"No, no. He's not dying." she amended quickly. "He's just hurt. But he'll be fine. Just fine." she assured me, and I looked over to see Jasper staring blindly ahead, his stormy gray eyes unfocused. They seemed to be depthless, and they looked as if they belonged to someone much older than eighteen. Oddly, it gave me a sense of comfort to see that I was not the only person shaken to the core. Alice and Jasper both had even deeper connections to Edward than I did. For that matter, so did Emmett, who had not yet reappeared.

"I'm going to go get some fresh water." I said to no one in particular, and I walked away. I looked ahead, yet I saw nothing. It was a miracle I didn't break my ankle, but I probably wouldn't have felt the pain anyway. I picked up the water container and headed toward the spring.

How could this be happening? How could he suddenly be so much worse? Yesterday he had seemed fine! He had said it didn't hurt so bad, that he was okay. Had that all been an act? Had he been playing down his own pain so as not to worry us?How could a person be so selfless? How could I have been so blind? Had I really misinterpreted him so badly? I was normally good at reading a person, at getting a sense of who they are. Or at least, I _thought _I was… Maybe I wasn't though. Maybe I'd been a jerk all along, telling myself I knew a person, when really I was only taking them at face value. Like Edward…

Edward, who I pushed away because I secretly like him but thought a person like him could never like me back. I'd made him out to be this horrible, shallow, judgmental jerk because I wanted to not care about being rejected by him. I had never liked a person so much, and I'd also never simultaneously found a person so infuriating, and the combination was oddly… provocative.

And now he was sick, and in pain, and it was kind of all my fault. If I had just gone with him instead of being stubborn and making fun of him! If I hadn't been such a freaking hypocrite, he wouldn't be so pale and feverish and dizzy from infection. God damnit! Why did things have to be like this?I reached the spring and scooped a fresh bucket of cool, clear water. I wiped the tears I hadn't realized had been falling away with the back of my hand and quickly composed myself before heading back. I refused to let these feelings show. Alice was going to be enough of a wreck as it was, and I wasn't going to add to her or anyone else's agony.

When I got back, Edward was lying almost peacefully on a downy bed of our clothes, the wind blowing at bits of his damp hair as Alice pushed it out of his sallow face with her gentle fingers. I could see his eyes pulsing behind his eyelids as if he was having a nightmare, and I hurried over to set the water beside him.

"How is he doing?" I quietly asked Alice. Her lips tightened and pursed and she gave a miniscule shake of her head. Wordlessly, an epic had been communicated: He wasn't good. In one of Alice's tiny hands was clutched a scarf, and she now dunked the article into the water. She brought it up to his burning forehead to cool his skin a little, and ran it over his cheeks and neck. Even ill, I was astounded by the beauty I saw in him. His features had such a clean, easy elegance about them. The hollows under his cheekbones leant an aristocratic air to his whole face, and his nose was long and straight, but his lips had a playful quirk and his mouth was just a tiny bit crooked. I loved the crooked smiles he gave most of all. I think even if he had been ugly, I would have been captivated by Edward. But he wasn't. He was as close to perfect as I had ever seen.

Alice started unbuttoning Edward's shirt and my breathing suddenly felt very shallow, yet I couldn't take my eyes away. She pulled the sticking shirt away from his chest and abdomen and sides. She dipped the scarf in the cool water and started wiping at the top of his chest along his graceful collar bone, and my breath hitched in my throat and my lungs burned as if I wasn't getting enough oxygen.

"Alice, can I have your help?" called Rosalie, who was banking the fire nearer to the beach. Alice nodded and started to stand, then handed the wet, folded scarf to me.

"Here," she said, putting it in my hand. "Can you take over for a bit?"

I nodded and she left, and suddenly I was alone with Edward, and I felt guilty because I was busy checking him out and admiring the flawless, sleek but strong lines of his figure, and I should have been concentrating on ways to help him.

I looked at the makeshift sponge in my hand and then down at his bare chest and gulped hard, afraid to touch him, afraid that this would somehow be violating him. But he was burning up, and if this gave him any sort of comfort at all, I had no right to deny him for embarrassment's sake.

Tentatively I reached out and brought the dripping cloth to his face, running it over his forehead and down the side of his pale face. The water beaded and slid into his bronze hair. I dragged the cloth down his neck, and when I got to the top of his chest my hand began to shake. His bare skin was feverishly hot and exposed, and still I could hardly bring myself to touch him, though Lord knew I wanted to.

I closed my eyes tightly and let my hand move down, so that the wet cloth slid smoothly over the granite-like surface of his chest. I opened my eyes and took a breath, but I could feel the heat in my cheeks.

"You're… blushing." said a weak voice, and I looked in shock to see that Edward's eyes were as bright and green as ever, and they were looking right at me. I pulled my hand away, and his hand lightly grasped my wrist, but his grip was faint. "Please… don't stop." he said, giving a weak, almost pitiful smile. "That feels nice."

I dipped my hand into the water and wetted the cloth, then stroked his chest and abdomen, letting it trail along his side, and my cheeks felt like they were on fire. His eyes closed in contentment and he let go of my wrist.

I couldn't tell if he was asleep or not, but I settled beside him, one hand resting on his forearm as the other wiped cool water over his burning skin to keep him a little cooler. What I would have given for just some Tylenol…

I was snapped out of my reverie by a heavy set of footsteps and looked up in surprise at Emmett who had at some time returned from his foray into the woods. He looked down at Edward with worry and kneeled down, pulling aside the cloth of his jeans where I had cut them open. The edges of the wound were a raw, red color and looked puffy with infection. I winced away from the sight, and closed my eyes tightly as Emmett poured the rest of the cold water over the gaping wound to clean it out. Edward's face contorted into an expression of pain that was almost unbearable to even witness. I couldn't imagine the agony he was going through.

And that was how most of the day passed by. We all gathered what was necessary and never left Edward alone. I was reluctant to leave his side for even an instant, but then, so was everyone else. Alice had dissolved into tears a few times, and I was ever grateful to Jasper who seemed to be the only one who could make her feel better. In fact, he somehow managed to make everyone feel better. He had an extremely calming presence, and he was easy to be around. But with Alice, his kindness went a step farther.

I had watched in silence as the sun set and Alice began to cry. Fat, salty drops had silently rolled down her cheeks as she stared into the flames stoically, only the tremble of her lower lip giving her away. And Jasper- painfully shy, always quiet, reserved Jasper- had come up behind her and wrapped his long, strong arms around her tiny body and had just held her. I don't know if they said anything to each other, but gradually her tears diminished and she turned in his grasp and hugged him back.

I envied the comfort that they leant each other. Subconsciously I reached out and squeezed Edward's hand, wishing he would wake up and get better so I could apologize to him and make it up to him for all the mean things I had said. His consciousness drifted in and out, and he had eaten very little that day. He was even weaker than he had been that morning. The sun set and the sky turned black and we moved him back to the camp and into one of the shelters so he could rest. Emmett was about to crawl in after him, but I stopped him with a touch on his arm. He turned and looked at me in surprise.

"Yeah?" he asked. I swallowed, steeling my resolve.

"Would it be okay if I sat with him?" I asked quietly, glad the others weren't watching me. Emmett's eyebrows furrowed into a frown and then he shrugged.

"Suit yourself." he agreed, and let me pass him into the lean-to.

I leaned over and crept into the four-foot tall shelter that was wide enough that I could sit about six inches away from him. He was laid across the end that sloped, so I had enough room to sit up comfortably, and I did just that, gazing shamelessly at his face and dark eyelashes and at the tiny curls around his neck and temples.

I gave in to the urge I had been fighting all day and ran my fingers through his bronze hair, whisking it away from his face. "Edward," I said, my voice betraying me and coming out as a tiny sob. "Edward, I'm so sorry."

My eyes filled with hot tears that were at the brink of overflowing, and I stubbornly blinked them back. "Edward, please get better…" I told him, softly stroking his hair. Even matted it was like touching thick strands of silk, and my fingers rejoiced for the touch even if my heart mourned for his condition.

"Edward… I didn't mean all those horrible things I said to you," I told him, lip trembling. I clenched my jaw to stop the shaking, and it helped a little. "I just want you to get better. And when you do, I'm going to be nice to you, and I'm going to show you the real me."All the while, his eyes remained tightly closed, and the tears in my eyes finally spilled over. One landed on his cheek and slid down and made it look as if he was crying too. I laid down beside him on my side so I could look at him, and then tentatively reached out and put my arm around him, getting a little bit closer. Like Edward's, my eyes fell closed, and I gradually drifted into a fitful slumber.

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**_Thank you so much for reading, and each and every review is greatly appreciated. _**


	12. Sorrow

_**Author's Note: Sorry about the long wait, guys. This chapter was seriously giving me some attitude. Luckily, a lot of chapter 13 is already written and I've got more of a game plan for the next few chapters, so the next one will be out in more of a timely manner.**_

_**And you know what I realized? This story has no Jacob! How could I have written a story without my favorite character (well, aside from Jasper and Alice, they're so snuggly)? I'm feeling seriously team Jacob right now, and I've got no way to vent my fan-girl-ness. Le Sigh.**_

**_Okay, without further ado, chapter twelve,_ Sorrow_._**

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**Bella **

The next day, Edward was not improved. If anything he was even worse. He could not be awakened, and his breathing was shallow. His pale skin was burning hot with uncontrollable fever and his brow glistened with a sheen of sweat that had little to do with the hot island sun overhead. And despite the heat, he shivered. His teeth chattered and he curled up into a ball in on himself, as though huddling for warmth. We cloaked him with every scrap of clothing we had, but nothing seemed to help.

Rose was the only one, it seemed, that was able to keep a level head. While the rest of us sat in a circle around Edward, silent and pale with worry, Rosalie never stopped. She checked the nets and put out more, cooked the fish and forced us to eat. Our bodies were half starved, but we had no appetites. It was only with her insistence that we ate at all. She filled the bucket with cool, fresh water several times. We drank and then used the rest to cool Edward's searing skin and to flush out his open wound, which was a scary shade of red. He was delirious with infection and fever, and the few times his eyes fluttered open, he didn't seem to know where he was.

Alice cried almost nonstop. Nothing anyone said could make any difference to her, and we couldn't blame her. We all felt the same way. She tightly clutched Jasper's hand in a deathlike grip that looked painful, but he never complained, not even once.

At midday, Rosalie came for me and Alice, clean clothes thrown over her arm. We shook our heads. Now was not the time for a bath, we told her, but she insisted. That was the only time that day I left his side for more than a few minutes, and I'm grateful to Rosalie for it. She made sure we washed our hair and put on clean clothes, and after all that I felt a little bit better. Alice and I returned to camp and sat down with the unconscious Edward, and Rosalie then made the boys leave his side for the same self maintenance. I was relieved that she didn't follow them the way that she had followed us, but she had given Emmett a very stern look no one would dare disobey.

It was hard getting Edward to eat, and it was even harder keeping him hydrated. He was so out of it he had no idea what we were doing most of the time. We all knew he wasn't eating enough, and when we tried to pour water down his parched throat, he ended up choking on most of it and coughing it up. On top of the fever, we feared he was going to get heat stroke and dehydration.

The boys came back, their clothes dripping wet, their hair the same. I felt bad for them because they had only the clothes on their backs. If they wanted something clean to wear, they had only one option: what they already were wearing. They had apparently washed their clothes and put them right back on, but there weren't too many alternatives. Emmett was carrying his shirt in his hands, his chest and abs well defined and tan. Jasper, on the other hand, wore his white undershirt and carried the now clean blue sweater he always leant to Alice in his long, articulate hands. He was a stark contrast to Emmett. He was taller, but thin and with a lean build. He had a wiry, understated strength, and the thin white shirt only brought more attention to his thinness.

"You guys should find something else to do for a while." said Emmett to all of us. Alice frowned, looking up at him. Her still damp, dark hair glistened in the waning red sunlight.

"Why?" she asked, looking at her twin with worry. "I want to stay here with him."

"It's time to get Edward cleaned up." replied Emmett, putting his hands on his hips. "You don't want the infection to get worse, do you?"

Alice's mouth opened and shut a few times as she seemed to struggle to find an appropriate response. I could tell she wanted to stay, but she also wanted what was best for Edward. Finally she nodded and sighed, walking toward the beach.

"Fine, I'm going for a walk." she said, unhappy with things.

"I'll go with you." volunteered Jasper immediately. I noticed for the first time how tired he looked. Had he slept at all lately? His gray eyes looked tired, he looked strained. I shook my head. He'd be fine. It was Edward I was worried about.

"You too, Bella." said Emmett, and I jumped a little, startled.

"Oh, um, yeah." I said, walking away quickly, not really sure where I was going. I just kept walking, and eventually I found Rosalie in the woods, gathering fallen fruit into a large purse Alice had packed. I bent to help her, relieved to have a distraction. It was doing nothing for anyone's nerves to be sitting around him all day worrying. There was nothing we could do, it seemed. It all felt so hopeless.

"Is he going to die?" I asked, my voice hardly more than a whisper in the still, hot air. The words felt strange, _sounded_ strange. I hadn't meant to ask the question aloud; it was just something I'd been thinking about all day. I'd never seen a person die before. I didn't want Edward to be the first. He couldn't die…

"I don't know," answered Rosalie, a deep frown on her pretty face. Her blonde hair was pulled away from her face in a high ponytail. She was wearing her most comfortable pair of jeans and a thin tank top. I was surprised by how strong she looked. She glanced up at me, her face serious and somber. "He might."

My breath hitched and I could feel my eyes filling with tears. "Don't tell Alice." I pleaded with her, and she nodded her head in understanding, slowly placing more fruit into her bag.

"I won't." she agreed, and for a while we were both silent, lost in our own thoughts. The bag filled and I took a turn carrying it back to camp. When we got there, Emmett was done. He looked at us in relief.

"I'm glad you're back." he said. "Jasper and Alice still haven't returned, and I'm not sure where they ran off to. I'm going to go look for them."

"I'll come with you," said Rosalie, looking at me to see if that was okay. I nodded and waved her away.

"Yeah, go. I'll stay with Edward." I told them both. "We shouldn't separate"

They nodded and set off, a large gap between them as they walked. I frowned at the difference from the day before, but put it from my mind. I settled down next to Edward, who was on a grassy patch under a tree on a bed of our clothing. His hair was still damp from washing, and I saw that Emmett had traded clothes with him so that he'd have something clean on. He smelled fresh and he looked a little bit better now that his clothes weren't stained with blood.

I scooted a little closer and lifted his head into my lap to make him more comfortable, then slowly stroked his hair, brushing it with my fingers as it dried. Looking at his beautiful face, thinking about what it would be like to lose him made the tears come again. I tried to blink them away, but one tear escaped and fell onto his cheek. His green eyes fluttered open, hazy and not quite as bright as usual.

"Please don't cry," he murmured softly, his face set into a frown. I laughed a little at the irony of it all. He was dying, yet _he _was worried about _me. _"That's… better." he said, and every word was an effort. "I like it much more when you… smile."

I smiled again, but it was a sad smile, one with no hope. I stroked his cheek, letting my head fall. My hair brushed against the side of his face.

"I'm going to be… fine." he insisted, and the quiet sob that escaped from the back of my throat was completely involuntary.

"What if you're not?" I asked, hopeless. He just shook his head slowly back and forth, his eyes falling gracefully shut.

"Don't… say that."

"Edward, I-"

"Shh." he cut me off, weakly raising one hand. "You'll have plenty of time to tell me when I'm… well."

Would I? Would I really ever get that chance? I wanted to tell him that I was sorry. I wanted to tell him that I was falling for him, and that he was the most beautiful person I had ever met and that I didn't mean a single mean thing I had said to him before and… and that I was going to miss him. I didn't think he was going to last much longer, and I wanted the chance to say goodbye. But I closed my mouth and sadly nodded.

Did he even realize he was dying?

As he fitfully slept, his face anxious and his brow knotted, I wondered if he was in much pain. If it had been anyone else, we probably would have been crying in agony over our wound, but Edward stayed stoically silent. Maybe he didn't want to make it harder on us. I could understand that, even though it was so selfless it was almost horrible. But if I was in his shoes, I wouldn't want to worry the others either. Especially Alice… What would Alice do if she lost her brother? Maybe Edward just knew that there was nothing to be done on this deserted island. We had no medicine, no medical knowledge, and our chances seemed slim that someone would rescue us, and slimmer still that we would be rescued before his condition worsened to fatality. I didn't want to think about that, but I also couldn't get the idea out of my head.

I'd never seen a person die before. What if Edward was the first? What if he died in my arms? What if we had to bury him here on this horrible little island? No funeral, neither of his parents, not even a tombstone to commemorate his life. What if we had to dig his grave, had to move his cold, dead body, had to cover that beautiful, serene face with sand and earth and never see it again? Could we _do_ that? Could _I _do that? Did I have the strength?

Looking down at his face, and the expression of pain he couldn't hide in sleep, I didn't think that I could. How had he somehow managed to twine himself into my existence? When had I gone from hating him to feeling like I couldn't live without him? Me of all people. Sensible Bella. Bella, who never rushes into things. Bella, who'd never had a crush on a boy in her entire life, suddenly head over heals for one she'd only known for a week. Still, I'd spent more time with him in this one week than I had spent with most people my whole life. I knew things about him, and he knew things about me. If he died, it would be no small loss. I wouldn't just be able to go on as if nothing had happened.

But at a deeper, more instinctual level, I knew it was also an inevitability. Edward was dying, and it was only a matter of time before he was gone. If I was less selfish, I'd be wishing for him a swift, painless death, but I wasn't selfless. I was selfish and I desperately wanted more time with him. Like another sixty or seventy years. I'd have to settle with a few days, maybe less. With the way the fever was draining him, he didn't look like he was going to last much longer.

I hastily wiped the tears from my eyes and cheeks and knelt my head, kissing the top of his forehead. This might be the last time I got to have a moment alone with him, I realized. I wasn't going to waste it; I wasn't going to miss my chance.

I gingerly stroked his cheek, feeling the smooth texture of his pale, flawless skin. My hands trembled and I pulled them back hastily so that I wouldn't wake him. His eyelids looked glassy and had a bluish tinge to them, and there were dark circles like bruises under his eyes. He slept almost constantly, but his body was under extreme exhaustion from trying to heal and from fighting the infection that waged within him. This was all my fault, my mind cruelly repeated over an over, a mantra only I could hear. If I hadn't been so stubborn, if I hadn't been so terrible to him, he'd be fine now. We'd be swimming in the ocean together, or laughing as we collected fallen star-fruit, and instead he was lying unconscious in my arms, his skin searing hot, his face pale and drained of blood, his life slowly drifting away.

I was going to miss out on possibly the greatest thing of my entire life, and I had no one to blame but myself. I had barely gotten to know the real him, and now he was leaving me forever. These last few days had been enlightening to me. I had gotten to see the real Edward, and he had seen the real Bella, and there was a connection there, I was sure. Now that connection would be severed. I was going to miss him so much. Silent tears began to roll down my cheeks, completely uncontrollable.

"Goodbye, Edward." I whispered.

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_**If you liked it, please review. Every comment is immensely appreciated!**_


	13. Fairytale

_**Last time…**_

_(Bella)_

"_I'm glad you're back." said Emmett. "Jasper and Alice still haven't returned, and I'm not sure where they ran off to. I'm going to go look for them."_

"_Yeah, go. I'll stay with Edward." I told Rosalie and Emmett._

_Looking at his beautiful face, thinking about what it would be like to lose him made the tears come again. When had I gone from hating him to feeling like I couldn't live without him? Me of all people. Sensible Bella. Bella, who never rushes into things. Bella, who'd never had a crush on a boy in her entire life, suddenly head over heals for one she'd only known for a week. If I was less selfish, I'd be wishing for him a swift, painless death_

"_Goodbye, Edward." I whispered. _

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**Alice**

You know what's really terrible? My twin brother was critically injured, and the thing I was worrying about as I walked along the beach with Jasper was that my eyes must look red and puffy from all the crying I'd been doing. It's strange the thoughts that cross your mind when your world comes crumbling down. Maybe I'd finally lost it. I even knew as I thought it that it was unimportant, but that doesn't mean the thought stopped nagging me. On the contrary, I became hyper-aware of my red, inflamed eyes.

I had no idea where we were going, but I was somewhat grateful that I had been pushed away from my brother. I needed a break from… all _that. _Not that I wanted to abandon Edward, but I needed a little bit of time to regain what little composure I still had so I could at least _try_ to be strong for him. I wiped at my wet eyes and cheeks with the back of my hand, and a streak of mascara showed up on it. So much for waterproof, I thought bitterly. Now I had one more thing to worry about on this god-forsaken … I just wanted him to get better. I silently prayed to the gods, squeezing my eyes tightly shut. _Please save Edward, please save Edward. I'll never whine again. I'll donate all my old designer purses to charity. I'll start driving a Prius!_

When I reopened my eyes, I felt another pair on me, observing me curiously. A deep gray pair of eyes, to be exact. His mouth was a thin line, his head was tilted slightly to the side, making his blonde hair fall down around his face limply. Dark bags were under his eyes, purple like bruises, a sign he was more troubled by these events than he let on. I hurriedly looked away and sighed, my shoulders falling, sagging tiredly. Sometimes I felt like Jasper saw straight into my soul. I wouldn't mind so much, but I still knew close to nothing about him. It wasn't fair for him to be able to read me like an open book when he was a mystery novel on the top shelf and out of reach. What a double standard.

We came to the glade where the spring trickled off to and followed the little creek over to a fallen log that we both wordlessly sat down on. Neither of us said anything, and the silence was oppressive. I covertly looked at him from the corner of my eye, trying to make out his expression, but he always bore the same look lately- stoic grief, resolute and wary. He never let his guard down, that one. If I'd been my normal self and not completely off my rocker, worried about being on an island and my twin brother's horrible condition, he'd have been my favorite sort of project. What better than to bring a cute, shy guy out of his shell? And I was normally just the person to do it. I got along well with shy people. I got them to be more adventurous, to lighten up. Jasper needed both of those things direly, whether he realized it or not. Too bad I wasn't exactly feeling cheerful.

How could I be, when Edward was lying a mile away, pale and tired and hurt? I was grief stricken, and I wasn't stupid. I didn't want to admit the possibilities, but I knew what they were. I knew what the future could hold if he didn't get any better. I didn't want to think about it though. I just… wanted a sign. I wanted a solution. My lip trembled as I thought about the prospect of losing Edward. It was too terrible to even fathom, but yet there I was, fathoming it. I couldn't help it. I didn't even want to think about it, but I couldn't get it out of my mind what it would be like to have to live without him. The thought left me feeling hollow and ill. My stomach churned and my throat burned with a sob I wouldn't let out. Tears swelled in my eyes, hot and threatening to overflow.

"Alice?" asked Jasper, panic in his voice. He didn't seem to handle it well when I cried. "Are you okay?"

Before, I think I'd had a chance of keeping it in, but having someone ask if I was okay sent me over the edge and the tears burst out like water breaking through a dam. Down they poured, salty drops that landed in my lap, that trickled down my face, that made my black hair stick to my cheeks.

"I-I'm…. f-f-fine!" I sobbed hysterically, and it was anything but pretty. I sniffled, suddenly wishing I had a Kleenex, but there were none of course. Why couldn't this island have just one little drug store? I'd never realized it before, but a drugstore has pretty much everything you need to survive. Aspirin, tissues, tampons, peanut butter, water proof mascara that actually works….

He awkwardly reached up like he was going to pat my back and then let his hand fall weakly back down in his lap as if on second thought he changed his mind. I could tell he was debating and trying to figure out what to do. He chewed nervously on his lower lip, and I'd normally have found that absolutely endearing, but now I could hardly even get a hold of myself. I raked in huge sobs, hardly getting enough air to fill my lungs. My breath came out shaky and ragged like I was on the verge of hyperventilating. I probably was. And the more I tried to calm down, the worse it got.

"What- Um, what can I do?" asked Jasper anxiously, a note of panic in his voice. He definitely didn't handle women crying very well. I could tell this whole sudden display of water works was freaking him out, but there was little I could do.

"Can you… Distract m-me?" I managed to squeak out, sniffing hard and letting my hair fall forward to obscure my face from view. He was silent for a moment, his mouth slightly agape, struggling with my request.

"Distract you?" he repeated, a deep frown marring his pale face, making him look older and even more tired. "How?"

I shook my head really quickly, my hair swaying around my face. "I don't know!" I sobbed. "C-can you tell me a j-joke or s-something?"

Now Jasper raked in a great breath, and I heard him slowly expel it. "I… don't know any jokes." he confessed. Just hearing him talk, hearing him stress out, was calming me down a little bit. But just a little. "I think, even if I did know a joke, I couldn't deliver it right."

He chuckled softly. "I'm not really a funny person."

I didn't say anything, just stared down at my hands in my lap, which I wrung anxiously.

"Would you like me to…" he paused, clearly thinking. "tell you a story?"

I gulped in a breath of air, looking up at him. "A story?" I asked, my voice squeaking like a little mouse. He didn't seem to notice though, and I bit my lip in embarrassment. He shook his head.

"Never mind. That's stupid." he amended, and I suddenly sat up straighter, jolting. I startled him and he jumped a little, easily spooked.

"No!" I said desperately. I sniffled, wiping tears from my eyes, trying to look him in the eye. He only reluctantly looked back. "I- I'd like that." I confessed. A story was good. It would hopefully take my mind off of… well, everything.

Jasper pushed his long fingers together, fidgeting anxiously, his leg bouncing up and down. "A story about what?" he asked so quietly I hardly heard it. I shrugged, giving him a pathetic, watery smile. I had a feeling he was only doing this out of misplaced guilt. He, like just about every other man on the planet, just didn't know what to do when a woman cried.

The sounds of the running water trickled all around us in the green little glade we had found. The mossy ground beneath or feet was spongy and moist, as well as the log we were sitting on side by side. The air felt cooler in the shade, and it was darker there underneath the dense canopy of trees. All around us birds called, crickets chirped, and the wind quietly blew between the branches.

"Well, um, once there was a princess," he began nervously, and I perked up a little. I liked princesses. "And, um, she was very beautiful. Every prince and pauper in the land loved her from afar."I relaxed a little on the log, getting past my sniffles. I looked at him hopefully, silently urging him to continue. His face contorted in thought and he softly cleared his throat, finding his stride. "A knight from another kingdom set out with his squire to marry the King's only daughter, but they were a very long, long ways away. Their journey, they knew, would be long and difficult."

He relaxed into the story, his voice naturally soothing, and he found his pace. I found myself quickly captivated with the story, my eyes growing wider as I listened. But this story was different than any I had ever heard before. Though it was the knight who was on the quest to win the princess's hand, it was actually the squire, a brave but penniless man of seventeen who was hopelessly in love with the King's daughter, who managed to defeat his foes by just a hair using logic and cleverness. And when the knight met his demise, the young squire vowed to fulfill the task given to his master, even though he was young and inexperienced and only had a piebald pony and a bow.

Instead of vanquishing an enemy with one tremendous blow of his magic sword, as the hero generally did in those sorts of stories, the squire fought desperate losing battles and won only by luck or ingenuity, generally barely escaping death. He was often scared of the enemies he faced, but he never turned back from his mission. All the same, his task, like his love, seemed hopeless.

I found myself more captivated by the pluck of the squire than I had been by the might of his master. I chewed my knuckles anxiously when he rode into enemy territory, gasped when a giant's sword barely missed him, and sighed when he lay down his lonely head to sleep and dream of the faraway princess. His love for her seemed of a piece with his general hopelessness.

In the end, he brought to her father a grapevine that grew rubies, astonishing the entire court. "But the squire didn't care _that _much," Jasper said with a wry smile. "for all the barons and earls. He was interested in one person only. That night, he stole into her room, evading the guards with a cunning ruse he had learned on his journey. At last he stood beside her bed and gazed down upon her face."

He looked me in the eyes as he said this. "She woke at once, but she was not afraid. The squire reached out and gently took her hand." Jasper mimed the story, reaching for my hand and holding it in both of his. My heart sped up a little, and I was utterly entranced with the story. I was also mesmerized by the intensity of his gaze and the power of the young squire's love, and I hardly noticed that Jasper was holding my hand. "He said to her, 'I love you dearly', and kissed her on the lips." Jasper leaned over and kissed me. His lips touched mine so gently that I hardly felt it. It happened very quickly, and he resumed the story instantly. "The princess fell asleep," he continued.

Did that really happen, I wondered? Did Jasper just kiss me? I could hardly believe it, but I could still feel the touch of his mouth on mine.

"The next day, the squire asked the king if he could marry the princess, as his reward for bringing home the jeweled vine."

Jasper kissed me without thinking, I rationalized. It was just part of the story. He didn't even realize what he was doing. I vowed to just forget about it. "The king refused him. The squire was heartbroken. All the courtiers laughed. That very day the squire left the land, riding on his piebald pony; but he vowed that one day he would return, and on that day he would marry the beautiful princess."

Jasper stopped and let go of my hand.

"And then what happened?" I asked breathlessly.

"I don't know," he replied. "I haven't thought of it yet."


	14. Losing Hope

_Author's Note: Thanks everyone for the nice reviews. I can feel some of you getting antsy, wanting to know what's going to happen to Edward. Be patient, my friends, be patient. I've been writing quite a bit lately, so hopefully I'll have a new chapter up fairly quickly. I want to get as much of my stories done as possible before I have to go back to university and have my time stolen from me in the name of 'education'. _

_If you haven't already, please check out my other in-progress story, 'The Boy in the Attic', and for those of you with more adult tastes, my one-shot (which may be continued at a later date) called 'Imperfection'. _

_I really want to thank the great group that reviews every chapter and keeps coming back. You guys are so awesome, I can't even begin to tell you how much. _

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**Rosalie**

"What is _wrong_ with you?" he demanded of me, having to jog to keep up with my rapid pace. I didn't slow down, nor did I answer. I'd been working hard all day long by myself, I was exhausted, and I was not in the mood for any more of his bullshit. Emmett Cullen had all the emotional maturity of a child, and I was not in the mood to mommy him.

I trudged on, not answering, not even looking back at him. Looking at him never seemed to help things. Every time I glanced at him, I could feel a smile fighting it's way to the surface and I was aware of my body subtly responding to his proximity. My heart rate would increase, my breathing would become more shallow, my thoughts became foggy and I got a strange feeling in the pit of my stomach that didn't exactly hurt, but was odd nonetheless.

"Hey, answer me!" he insisted, catching up with me. His strong hand caught my upper arm and I roughly shook him off, glaring straight ahead.

"Don't touch me!" I spat, and I could see the look of shock and - pain?- on his face.

"I don't get it," he intoned, still not backing off. "What did I do this time? Why can't I touch you?" There was annoyance and betrayal in his voice.

"You didn't have a hard time not touching me last night!" I threw at him, and realization dawned on him. God, how could men be so stupid? Emmett was no exception; in fact, he was the definition of dim-witted when it came to women. Or, at least, when it came to me. It felt like he knew exactly the wrong things to say to me in every situation, and then the one line that would suddenly reduce me to jelly and have me swooning at his feet.

Fucking bastard.

Men did not play me like this. _I _played them. Men begged for me. Men swooned. I'd had men strategize complex maneuvers to get me in the sack, and when Emmett got the chance he turned me down. What in the world was wrong with him?

What in the world was wrong with _me_?Why didn't he want me? I'd obviously done something to make him think I wasn't good enough, or maybe he'd never thought I was good enough. That explanation seemed far more likely since he had been rude to me from the moment I stepped onto his stupid little yacht. Maybe I was losing it- that indefinable quality that made men intrinsically want me. How was it possible to be only eighteen and to have already peaked? I'd reached my full potential, and there was nowhere else to go. Emmett Cullen was a cold, hard slap in the face.

"Y-you think I didn't have sex with you because… because I didn't _want _to?" he asked. I spun around to face him, leveling him with a cold glare.

"Why else?"

For a full moment he stared at me in open mouthed shock, and I could tell he had failed to come up with a good excuse. I swung back around and continued walking, following the two sets of footprints in the sand. They clearly belonged to Jasper and Alice. I only hoped they hadn't gone too far, otherwise I was going to be stuck with the dick head known as Emmett for longer than I wanted to think about.

"You are so full of yourself." he accused, and I bristled, flicking him off without turning around. "You think this _has _to be about you, right? There couldn't possibly be another reason."

My teeth ground together, and I felt him rejoin me, his speed matching mine. I could feel the heat radiating off of his body, and his arm momentarily brushed against my shoulder before I firmly crossed my arms over my chest, pulling away from him.

"Fine. What's the other reason?" I asked, my voice heavy with agitation, my footfalls rapid and heavy. I was praying for another explanation though. If there was another explanation, then I wasn't undesirable. If I was still desirable, then I was still worth something. I wasn't so stupid as to think that I would have ever gotten anywhere without my looks. My looks were what I had going for me, just like Bella had her brains and Alice had her infectious personality. If I lost my looks, or if people decided I wasn't all that special anymore, that was it. The end of the road. Game over.

His mouth hung open, just waiting for flies to swoop in. I could see the cogs working in his brain, but there was apparently little payoff from all that intensity. He opened and shut his mouth a few times and then firmly closed it and glared back at me.

"Maybe it's none of your business." he shot back

I raised an eyebrow and then looked straight ahead. Oh yeah, good one, I thought viciously. What a piece of gold, that one. He sure did have a way with words!

"Look, Emmett." I said, sounding far more calm and nonplussed than I felt. I looked at him and used the sweet voice an adult uses when they are explaining something to a child. "I don't really care either way. As far as I'm concerned, what happened between us was just a little glitch, but don't worry, cause it won't happen again. It was my moment of island madness, and nothing more. Don't expect a repeat performance."

We continued on in tense silence, following the two sets of footprints left in the sand. One was long and narrow- Jasper. The other was small and dainty- clearly Alice. I tried to clear my mind, because this man was obviously not worth all the trouble. No man was, but Emmett Cullen especially. I didn't know what little game he was playing, but I wanted no part of it. I'd leave the foolhardy romances to Alice and Bella. No sir, not for me. Besides, this island needed at least one person to be level-headed. Everyone else had near lost their minds.

Finally the footprints in the sand turned off into the grass following the stream. I pulled a branch aside so I could pass through into the dense forest, and then let it go when I was past it. I heard a very satisfying 'thwak' followed by Emmett's annoyed grunt. I smiled.

We walked a bit farther, and I heard their voices before I saw them.

"And then what happened?" I heard Alice ask, her voice a soft, musical tinkling. There was a slight pause, and they came into view.

"I don't know," replied Jasper. "I haven't thought of it yet."

Alice looked ready to say something else. Her hazel eyes were wide and glossy, a thoughtful, intense expression on her face. "Jasper, I-"

A twig snapped under my foot and they both turned to look at me. A moment later, Emmett barreled through the dense undergrowth, sounding more like a rhino walking across crackers than a man walking through the woods. I rolled my eyes and noticed that Jasper and Alice guiltily sprang away from each other. Now, that was kind of interesting.

"You guys gotta stop running off like this." complained Emmett. "With the way you two sneak around, you'd think you're in love."

Alice turned red, and Jasper turned white. It was a funny thing to see. I wondered if Emmett was really as dense as he seemed or if he knew of the way they felt about each other and was merely giving them a hard time. It was pretty obvious to everyone but them.

"Let's go back," I said to Alice, who hooked her arm in mine. She only came up to about my chin, the tiny little thing. "It's starting to get dark."

Alice and I walked ahead, and the boys followed a few yards behind. By the time we got back to our little camp, it was dark. Bella was still in the same position we had left her. She was sitting cross legged in the grass, Edward's head cushioned in her lap. She was running her long fingers through his bronze hair, which glimmered in the light cast by the fire. I went and added a few branches to the fire that had been broken up by Emmett, and Jasper volunteered to go check the fish traps. I didn't argue with him, because the last thing I wanted on a chilly night was to wade into the water. It was worse for him because he didn't even have a change of clothes. He'd come back and be freezing. I smiled silently as I thought that Alice would surely keep him warm if he'd get over his damn shyness.

Edward had woken up, but he seemed unfocused. I reached down to touch his forehead and it was searing hot to the touch. I dunked a piece of cloth in our water bucket (which was getting low. I'd need to refill it soon) and handed it to Bella to press to his face. She helped him lean back against a tree so he could sit up, and I saw her stretch her long legs out. No doubt they ached like hell. She'd been sitting in the same position for hours.

We situated ourselves around the fire, making quiet conversation, too morose to really enjoy each other's company when Edward was looking like the living dead. His face had lost all color and he had a hard time keeping his head up. He drooped tiredly against the tree, his chin resting on his chest. He was awake, I could tell, but he didn't participate in our soft conversation. He just listened. I think that was all he had strength to do. His fever was slowly killing him. What a terrible way to die.

Jasper came back soaking wet with the fish, but he didn't complain. I smiled as I saw that we had captured two good sized fish and one slightly smaller one. We wouldn't go hungry tonight. Emmett gutted and cleaned the fish and Alice helped him cut them into neat little pieces and skewer them onto some long sticks we had found that we had soaked in water so they wouldn't immediately catch on fire. She wedged the ends of the sticks into the rocks that surrounded the fire so that the pieces of fish would hang over the heat and cook, and we waited with rumbling stomachs.

"Edward, can I get you anything?" asked Bella, putting her hand on his arm. I smiled inwardly at her sweetness- a quality I had never possessed. Edward feebly shook his head and lifted it to smile at her. But it was a pained smile. I saw him lift his hand and wrap his fingers around hers. She scooted closer to him and pulled his hand into her lap, where she held it and stroked his palm soothingly with her thumb. I'd never seen Bella act that way around a boy before, and was a little startled. Her cheeks, I noticed, were a soft, rosy shade of pink. She looked torn between happiness and sadness, as if she couldn't decide which she felt. Happiness for the moment, and sadness for the long run.

We were all sad. Emmett's eyes were downcast and he stared at the sand, sighing quietly every now and then. He was oddly quiet, and his handsome face was set into a permanent frown. The serious expression he bore didn't suit him. He looked much more natural when he was smiling or laughing. He sat between Alice and Jasper, and Alice's tiny hand touched his strong, browned forearm. He smiled gently at her, then looked up at the moon. Jasper, as always, was silent. I never heard him talk. In the week that I'd spent with him, I'd hardly heard him say ten words. How could Alice like someone so dull? I just didn't understand it.

When the fish cooked through, we ate. I felt fuller and slightly stronger. I'd never realized how much I took for granted before. I sure did miss being able to open the freezer and pick out a lean cuisine. Now if we were hungry, we had to collect it or trap it then gut it and cook it. Everything took so much effort. At least being so busy allowed us to take our minds off things. If we'd had all day to just ponder our predicament, we'd have probably been worse off.

The moon rose in the black sky. On the island, away from the lights of the cities, the stars shined brightly in the inky blanket of space, and the moon looked like a sliver of shining whiteness. It was beautiful.

Alice yawned tiredly, and I did too before I could help myself. I always yawned when someone else did. Before we knew it, everyone in the circle of light was tiredly rubbing their eyes.

"Maybe we ought to get to bed," yawned Emmett, sounding adorable, I have to admit. I mentally cursed myself for thinking it, but it was too late to do anything about it. I couldn't help my thoughts, I decided, but I could choose not to act on them. I would be strong and resist the urge to go comfort him. He just looked so sad…

Bella and I climbed into our little lean-to, Bella very reluctantly. She didn't want to leave Edward, even for a minute. Jasper half led, half carried Edward into another little shelter, surprisingly strong. And Alice smiled weakly at me and bid me goodnight, climbing into the last remaining lean-to with her brother Emmett. I sighed and laid back against the spread out clothing we were using as blankets, staring up at the ceiling made of palm fronds. They were starting to dry out and turn golden-brown, I noticed. But they protected us from the cool winds that blew across the island at night, and they made us feel a little more protected, even if it was just an illusion.

I fell asleep quickly, exhausted by the day's events, both mentally and physically, and that night I dreamt of warm brown eyes, strong, comforting arms, and a smile that could melt even my cold heart.

The next morning, I awoke to the sound of Alice's screaming.

"Oh my God!" I heard her shout, her clear, high pitched voice breaking through the peaceful silence of the morning. The chirping birds silenced their song immediately, startled by the sound that caused all of us to jolt up in our beds, frozen in fear. "Edward!"

* * *

_Please review! If you do, I might be able to work out an arrangement with one of the guys for you. Who're you all feeling? Are you a classic and prefer Edward? Maybe a little more sensitive and Indie and want to get in on the loveable-ness that is Jasper? Or does Emmett's sense of humor and strong physique do it for you?_


	15. The Funeral

_Author's Note: As promised, I've gotten this chapter out as quick as humanly possible, and it's a long one! It's about twice as long as my usual chapters, but there was a lot that needed to be established. I considered breaking it down into two pieces, but I didn't dare leave it off at a cliff-hanger. Some of you guys are pretty scary with your threats, you know! Anyways, I hope that you like it. _

**_C_****_hapter 15: The Funeral_**

* * *

**Bella**

_I was dreaming. _

_Waves crashed against a rocky shore, but not like the shores of the island we had washed up on. These shores were cold, gray, and peaceful. I was back in Washington, but I didn't know exactly where. It didn't seem very important. I was sitting by myself, staring out at the endless gray ocean. The tide was coming in, and the cold water nipped playfully at my bare toes. I pulled my legs in and wrapped my arms around them, shivering._

"_I'm cold," I said to the ocean, my voice echoing. And no sooner had I said it than I was enveloped in warmth. I turned my head to investigate this odd, if pleasant, change, and found myself face to face with Edward. He knelt behind me, his arms wrapped around my waist, holding me to his chest. My cheek brushed against his and I could feel his quiet breath on my neck. _

"_I've missed you," he said, and his voice echoed too. Everything felt slow and sluggish, as if we were moving through a pool of syrup. But there was no rush on this beach. I didn't question what was happening; I just accepted it peacefully. _

"_You shouldn't have gone…" I told him, staring down at my hands in my lap. He reached forward and twined his fingers around mine. "Edward, you shouldn't have died."_

_The hand holding my own vanished and I frowned, turning to see why Edward had so suddenly pulled away from me, but he was gone. I was cold once more, now that his body was no longer sheltering mine. I stood, staring down the empty beach that seemed to stretch on and on and on._

"_Edward!" called another voice in the distance. They were searching for him too. "Oh my god, Edward!"_

My eyes flew open and I jolted awake. Next to me Rosalie tiredly blinked her eyes, opening her mouth to say something. I didn't wait to hear what it was. I flew out of the small shelter as if it were on fire. A few feet away, Emmett was also scrambling out of his lean-to. His huge, strong body hit the beam on one side that supported it and it collapsed as he hurried out of it, but we paid it no mind. Our eyes simultaneously fell on the third lean-to. It was the one that belonged to Edward.

I darted across the small clearing to it, but Emmett was closer and beat me to it, blocking my view with his wide shoulders. He took up almost the whole space, and there were already too many people crowded inside. I heard Alice sobbing and my heart seemed to stop as a terrible pain ran through me. I stumbled backward and fell back onto the sand, unable to focus my eyes. No tears came, but my jaw clenched as I drew in a shallow, ragged breath. Alice was still crying- I could hear it perfectly. Emmett and Jasper sounded like they were shifting inside of the shelter, but that was as much as I could make out.

"Give him some air, give him some air!" rumbled Emmett, his voice booming through our little camp. He backed out of the shelter, followed by Alice, who's eyes were glossy from tears. She hung on to Emmett as if she would collapse on her own. Next I saw Jasper slowly, carefully backing out of the lean-to, and he was holding on to Edward, who was alive.

My heart seemed to restart, and I wanted to yell at Alice for crying. I thought he had died! But he was alive, and he was awake, and something about him looked better than I'd seen since he'd been gored by the boar. There was more color in his pale cheeks and his eyes had more of their usual vibrancy. I wanted desperately to run to him and throw my arms around him in relief and joy, but I held back, feeling oddly embarrassed.

"Bella…" he breathed, looking up at me, and it was such a relief to hear his voice after thinking that I'd never hear it again. There was still a slight waver to it, but it sounded stronger than it had before.

"What happened?" I asked, but it came out as more of a whisper. Jasper was grinning ear to ear, relief evident on his face. I realized that the tears in Alice's eyes were tears of happiness.

"His fever broke." replied Jasper. I timidly stepped forward, my heart pounding in my chest, my stomach tied up in nervous knots, and slowly reached forward to touch his face. His skin was cool and felt normal. There was no longer the glassy-eyed, feverish expression on his face.

"Bella, I need to talk to-"

"Can I get you any-"

We both stopped, flustered. I blushed and he looked embarrassed. "Do you need anything?" I asked him, not quite able to meet his eye. All of a sudden everyone was around us, trying to push water and fruit into his hands, offering to check the fish traps, wondering if maybe he'd be more comfortable leaning against the fallen tree. I was pushed back by the cluster of caring family and friends, back by Rosalie, who was watching the whole event from a few yards away, her hands on her hips, a smile on her face.

"Fevers can be good for you," she told me, as the others continued to swarm Edward and ask him questions. "They're the body's way of fighting infection."

I closed my eyes and released a sigh of relief.

"I think he's going to be okay now," said Rosalie. "Now, when you tell him how you feel, he'll actually hear it."

My cheeks felt like they had burst into flames and I looked at her in shock. "How did you…?"

"Someone had to keep an eye on you, Bella. You get so distracted when you're around him. I just happened to hear a couple of things."

I bit my lip, unsure of whether or not I should be upset with her for eavesdropping. I decided that I was too happy to be upset with her and let it go. Today, nothing would sour my cloud of happiness, because Edward was okay and he was going to get better, and that was what mattered the most. His horrible fever had broken, and it had done it's job of fighting the infection. A huge weight had been lifted off of all our shoulders. I felt like sighing in relief.

Jasper went to go check the traps. Alice went to go gather fruit. Rosalie left to go refill the water bucket, and Emmett followed closely behind. I think they were having some sort of argument over who was going to carry it. Now it was just me and Edward, all alone. Jasper had helped him out of the lean-to and he was sitting with his back against a fallen tree for support. His brilliant green eyes fell on me and I felt extremely self conscious.

"How are you feeling?" I asked to fill the gaping silence. I didn't want him to hear my pounding heart. He smiled softly, glancing down. His long, dark eyelashes stood out against his pale cheeks, and for some reason that made me smile.

"I feel… a lot better." he said, sounding somewhat surprised. "Listen, Bella. Can we talk?" he asked, and my stomach did an odd little flip-flop.

"We- we are talking." I pointed out. He shook his head.

"No, I mean… I mean, I want to talk about what happened when I was sick… with you and me." he said, and my heart plummeted uneasily. Had he heard all the things I had said? Did he remember the hours upon hours I had spent with him, cradling his head, stroking my fingers through his hair? Now that he was better and coherent and so, well, _awake, _things felt so entirely different. I felt uncontrollably shy around him.

"What do you mean?" I asked, playing dumb. "Nothing… I mean, nothing _happened _between us."

Except for the fact that I had basically professed all of my feelings for him. That had kind of happened. I was sure that was what he was referring to, but I wasn't quite ready to handle that. No sir, no thank you. Him suddenly snapping out of his fever was enough for one day. I didn't think I could handle talking about my feelings on top of that.

He looked at me, and his expression slowly changed from confusion to looking hurt. I bit my lip guiltily. The very last thing in the world that I wanted was to hurt him. Couldn't he see that? But I had bared my soul and made myself completely vulnerable to him. It was within his power to take me higher than I'd ever been or to completely crush me. I didn't like that one person had that sort of control over me. Things had suddenly tipped very much in his favor.

I didn't think that Edward would ever throw in my face the things that I had said, but even if he just kindly told me that he didn't like me that way… Well, that would almost be worse than him just telling me I was an idiot and I didn't stand a chance. Him being nice was just too much to take. It would cement my view that Edward was perfect, or at least as close to perfect as I had ever met, and therefore he was utterly out of my league.

No, before I admitted any feelings for him (or at least agreed to talk about them), I needed to see some strong evidence that those feelings were reciprocated. So far Edward had said and done nothing to make me believe that. A lot of that had to do with the fact that he had been less than coherent these last few days, but the fact remained that he knew how I felt about him, and I had no idea how _he_ felt about _me. _I would not further embarrass myself.

Yes, I decided. Until I knew how Edward felt, the topic of my feelings was a closed one.

"So that's it then?" he asked me, a hint of iciness and well-deserved resentment lacing his words. I cringed inwardly but kept up an aloof appearance. Because I didn't think I'd be able to say anything without my voice cracking, I simply nodded my head, busying myself with the shelter Emmett had knocked over on his race to get out of it that morning.

Rosalie and Emmett returned with the water, bickering about something. I didn't pay much attention to it because their arguments were always pretty much nonsense and fraught with sexual tension. Sometimes I felt like them arguing was just some sick sort of foreplay, and deep down they were both getting a really big kick out of it. They didn't realize it, but they were actually weirdly perfect for each other. That is, if they could get over themselves for one second so that they could see it.

Moments later Alice returned, slumping under the weight of her bag, which was heavy with fruit. When Jasper returned with the fish, we cooked it over the fire (which I had stoked) and then had lunch together. Everyone but Edward and I were in much better moods, and they all shot worried glances at us, trying to figure out what was going on. I didn't feel like talking about it even to Rose and Alice. I needed some time to stew in my emotions. Maybe in that time span Edward would decide it was a good idea to man up to his feelings (whatever they may be) and just tell me how he felt.

After we ate, Rosalie re-wrapped Edward's leg in freshly washed dressings that had been made out of one of my t-shirts. I jealously watched the easy interaction between them as she wrapped and they both talked. She said something that made him laugh and I internally simmered, thinking less-than-friendly thoughts toward Rosalie and her utter perfection. I looked up to see that my expression was mirrored by Emmett, who hadn't taken his eyes off of them the entire time. Maybe Rosalie felt my eyes boring into the back of her skull, because she turned her head and smiled at me, winking. I instantly felt guilty because I knew she wasn't over there flirting with him. Even if she was, I had no room to complain. I hadn't told her I liked Edward and I hadn't told Edward that I liked him. It was all open hunting, if one chooses to believe the old adage 'all's fair in love and war'. I, personally, do not believe that at all. At least in my opinion, there are few things _less _fair than love.

Take Alice and Jasper, for example. I had spent the last two weeks watching them swoon while the other's back was turned, but neither had the guts to admit it. They were overly polite to each other, always arm's length away at all times. If love was fair, they would be together already. They were so sweet together. They were completely different, but it's like they say: opposites attract.

And Emmet and Rosalie! What in the world was their problem? Clearly they were crazy about one another, but I'd never met two more stubborn, pig-headed people in my life. If they got together, it would be a miracle.

And Edward… If life was fair he would have been in my arms right then. I was a good person, after all. I'd never been arrested, I followed all traffic laws and I tried to say and think nice things. I've seen horrible people who have found someone. If those people can fall in love, how is it possible that I was still single? I'll tell you how. Because all is _not _fair in love and war. _Especially_ not love.

Emmett and Alice decided to go into the woods to look around, and Jasper mysteriously wandered off on his own, as was his tendency. I got to work on the decimated lean-to, hoping I could repair it before night fell. Rosalie and Edward were still just chatting away, and I could hear every burst of laughter they enjoyed. Edward really was a lot improved now that his fever was broken, but he still couldn't move around too much. Every time his injured leg got jostled, his eyes tightened in pain. He refused to complain, though. I admired that about him- that he could be so strong for the sake of others.

"Can you help me sit on this log?" Edward asked Rose, patting the log he was leaning against. "I'd like to be able to stretch my legs out a little."

Rosalie willingly obliged, and I watched from the corner of my eye as Rosalie put her arms around his waist and helped him get up. The little green monster inside of me seethed, and I childishly threw down the palm frond I was holding and stomped off toward the beech. I could feel their questioning eyes on my back, but they were wise and didn't question me.

I stomped through the water, getting the bottoms of my capri's wet. I had a permanent frown on my face, and I remembered my mother telling me that my face would get stuck like that. I pushed my fingers to the space between my eyes and tried to smooth out the irritated crease. I took a few deep breaths and gave myself some time to cool off. From the edge of the jungle I found an over-ripe papaya that I ate. The sticky-sweet juices dripped down my chin and stuck to my fingers, making the sand cling to my hands uncomfortably. After that I walked the shoreline and gathered some sea-shells to amuse myself, and only when I was certain that I had wasted away a few hours and blown off some steam did I go back to camp.

I shouldn't have. I walked back to find Edward sitting inside the fallen lean-to, holding it up while Rose fastened the pieces together with one of Alice's belts. They were laughing, and their smiles reached their eyes. They both looked up at me and I was met by brilliant green eyes from Edward and equally beautiful blue eyes from Rosalie. I'd felt much calmer after my walk, but a bit of my hostility felt like it was returning. Rose frowned at me questioningly and finished up what she was doing. They had fixed the shelter without me.

"Hey, Bella," called Rosalie, jogging over to me. She took hold of my upper arm and pulled me out of ear-shot from Edward. "What's going on with you? Are you mad at me?"

"No!" I denied immediately, but there was a false note in my voice. I breathed. "No. I mean, no I'm not _mad _at you."

She raised her eyebrows, putting her hands on her hips. "O-kay…"she said slowly. "Bella, just tell me what's going on. All day you've been looking at me like I kicked your cat. What is up?"

I sighed, feeling even more guilty. "It's nothing," I insisted. "I'm sorry I've been moody. It's not you, I promise."

She opened her mouth to say something, but she cut herself off, looking at something behind me. Her eyes widened and her draw dropped.

"Bella, Rosalie…" breathed Alice from behind me, and I whirled around. My mouth dropped open too. Alice was covered in blood- absolutely drenched in it. There was so much that I couldn't tell where it was coming from. Shock ran through me, leaving me speechless. Alice held up a finger, asking for a minute before we spoke.

"Don't worry, I'm fine." she said, and my brow furrowed. How could she be fine? She was covered in blood! Emmett came out from the jungle, and he too was covered in blood. But now I realized the source. In his arms, laying quite dead, was a boar. Possibly the one that had gored Edward.

"What happened?" I asked, my voice rising. I felt tears burning in my eyes and before I could stop them they overflowed, spilling down my cheeks. Alice ran to me, throwing her arms around me.

"Shh, shh," she cooed. "It's alright. We're all fine."

"When I saw the blood…" I choked out, my voice a guttural sob. "I thought that… I thought that-"

"It's okay, it's okay." soothed Alice. My shock had broken and now all of my pent up feelings I'd been having felt like they were spilling through the floodgates. I was feeling not only relief that Alice and Emmett were okay, but relief that Edward was okay. I hadn't truly been able to express it that morning.

They sat me down next to Edward in front of the low fire and they sat across from me, dropping the boar down onto a patch of grass. I noticed that the boar's throat had been slit and hastily looked away. There was just too much blood. I didn't like blood, and they were covered in it.

"What happened?" asked Edward, repeating my previous question. I was beside him, still and unmoving. My body began to faintly quiver and he looked over at me, a tender expression in his eyes. His hand found mine, and it was warm and soothing. My eyes closed and I was able to relax ever so slightly. His presence was calming. My heart did a little flutter over the fact that he was holding my hand, but my brain had too much to handle for me to fully enjoy it.

"When Alice and I were out in the woods, we saw pig tracks." said Emmett, who pulled the blood-covered shirt up over his head. He threw it to the side and sat unabashedly bare-chested before all of us. I blushed, looking away, and saw that Rose looked oddly irritated. "We wanted to get it back for getting Edward, so we followed them."I could feel frustration begin to burn in my stomach, along with a heavy dose of disbelief.

"We found it sniffing at something on the ground, and when it saw Alice, it lunged at her. It would have hurt her too, the way it did Edward!" said Emmett, caught up in the story. Alice still looked faintly terrified. "So I grabbed it, and we were lucky I carry the knife with me. I stabbed it right before it reached Alice."

"Are you stupid?!" yelled Edward, outraged, glaring at Emmett. I shrank away from his anger, glad that it wasn't directed at me. I pulled my hand back into my own lap. He was terrifying in his rage.

"You two could have been killed!" Edward continued. "You never should have gone after it like that! And, Emmett! How in the world could you take Alice? What in the world would you have done if it had hurt her?"

He sounded livid, and Emmett looked taken aback. I think he was expecting gratitude, to be treated like a hero. I agreed with Edward though. It was more stupid than brave. I couldn't believe Alice had agreed to it. It was much more likely that it was all Emmett's idea, and she didn't want to be left alone in the woods by herself. For that I couldn't blame her. Her hazel eyes were filling with tears, and she pulled her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around them.

Emmett had a look of utter disbelief on his handsome face, and he angrily threw up his hands, standing. It was evident that he had been expecting an entirely different kind of reception, and Edward was raining on his parade. He'd get no sympathy from me, though. I agreed with Edward. Alice and Emmett going after a dangerous animal like that had been foolhardy.

Emmett paced angrily, and I scooted over so that I could put my arm around Alice's thin shoulders. I had moved farther away from Edward and I could feel him looking at my profile, but I wouldn't meet his eye. I could tell he wasn't ready to drop our earlier argument. He still wanted to talk about the things that I had said. I'd avoid him till he dropped it, though.

Alice looked… Well, to be honest, Alice had looked better. She was still in her blood-soaked clothing, and she looked like she was on the verge of tears. Her lower lip was quivering. I stood up and then pulled her up too.

"C'mon," I told her, shrugging in the direction of the jungle. "Let's go get cleaned up. You'll feel better in clean clothes."

She nodded her head vacantly and stood, but didn't follow when I started toward the woods. I looked back at her, frowning.

"What's wrong?" I asked, and her face crumbled.

"We- we killed that poor pig!" she exclaimed, tears rolling out of her eyes. I met Rosalie's exasperated gaze and saw that everyone else in our group (with the exception of Jasper, who had yet to wander back) had the same expression: utter disbelief.

"Alice, it's okay. It's just a pig." I assured her. "What matters is that you and Emmett are alright."She fervently shook her head at me and I sighed, crossing my arms over my chest. I had a feeling this might turn into a long one.

"I- I think that we… That we should a f-funeral." said Alice, voice shaking. Rose gave an unladylike snort of derision and Emmett sighed loudly.

"We're not going to bury it!" shouted Emmett, annoyed. "We're going to eat it! I'm frickin' hungry and I'm sick and tired of eating fish and fruit all day! If you don't want to eat it, fine, but don't try and take it away from the rest of us!"

No one looked like they were going to argue with _that_. My own stomach rumbled at the mere thought of bacon, pork chops, and maybe some nice, slow-roasted ham…

Alice sniffled. "Fine! Just eat it then!" she said angrily, putting her hands on her hips. "But I want to say a few words for it before you butcher the poor, defenseless thing!"

"Defenseless?" shouted Emmett, eyes bulging out of his head. "How can you call that thing _defenseless_? It almost killed Edward and it would have done the exact same thing to you!"

I could see that this fight was quickly escalating, so I timidly intervened, stepping between the two siblings.

"Look, it won't hurt anything if we have a little mock funeral for the pig and say a few things before we cook it. It'll make her feel better." I said in a soothing voice, trying to appease them both. They seemed to calm down, if only slightly.

"Fine." they both said in unison. I hooked my arm around Alice's and steered her a safe distance away from Emmett.

"What would you like to say?" I asked, and she looked at me with a frown.

"We can't do it _now_." she said, as if I was insane. Which was funny, because right then I was kind of doubting Alice's sanity.

"What?" I asked. "Why not?"

"Jasper isn't here!" she said, and to me it sounded like she thought this was very obvious. Yes, I agreed. Jasper certainly was not there, but I didn't see why he needed to be. But I didn't feel like arguing with her, so I acquiesced.

"Alright, alright. I'll go find him." I told her, and Rose stood.

"I've got it. I'll go." she volunteered, already taking off. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. It was probably for the best anyway. She knew the island a lot better than I did since I had been spending so much time with Edward. She'd be able to find him faster.

And she did. In what seemed like no time at all, Rosalie burst out of the woods and Jasper followed a few feet behind. To me he seemed like an almost comical figure. Extremely tall and lanky, his blonde hair stuck out at odd angles around his pale face that hadn't tanned even though we'd been in the sun a lot for the past two weeks. But I knew Alice thought he was adorable, and he was certainly handsome in his way. But no one could compare to Edward.

Jasper's eyes lit on Alice, and he hurried over to her, grasping her arms, eyes widened in shock. Hadn't Rosalie told him what had happened? Alice and Jasper quickly and quietly conversed, and I couldn't hear what they were saying, but it looked like she was assuring him she was fine and telling him what had happened. He took in the sight of her blood-stained form and pushed a lock of black hair behind her ear, rubbing in vain at a spot of dried blood on her cheek. He looked over at me and saw that I was watching. His face paled and he sprang back from her. Alice looked hurt and walked away from him.

We all gathered around the pig in a circle, Emmett helping Edward stand and walk over. I felt an enormous amount of relief that he was moving so well. Even though he had to be assisted, it was a tremendous improvement. Rosalie had been right. By the looks of it, Edward really would be okay.

At Alice's insistence, we clasped hands. I saw an alternate motive to this though. On her sides were Jasper and Edward, who stood next to me. On my other side was Emmett, who shared his other side with Rosalie, who flushed out the circle by standing next to Jasper. I think Alice just wanted to hold hands with Jasper, but it turned out in my favor as I got to hold Edward's hand (along with Emmett's). Rosalie looked quite irritated with this arrangement, because she was stuck holding hands with Emmett, whom she was currently running cold with, and also with Jasper, whom she openly found to be uninteresting and unimpressive. Alice and I were quite happy, Edward's face was an unreadable mask, and Jasper looked very, very uncomfortable next to Rosalie, but happy that he was holding Alice's tiny hand.

"Here lies the pig," began Alice, sounding very official. Emmett snorted derisively and she reached over the pinch him before reforming the circle. "We don't know much about him, but we do know that he was quick and strong. Maybe he was a father, maybe he was a brother. His life has been cut short, and we are grateful for his sacrifice."

I felt awkward giving last rights to a pig, but I didn't argue with her. Sometimes it was better just to give Alice her way. She gave her final words of goodbye to the pig and we dropped our hands. Edward seemed irritated with the ceremony and Rose put her arm around him and helped him back to the fire and the fallen log he had taken to sitting on. I glared after them jealously, and next to me Emmett did the same.

"I don't like how much time they spend together." said Emmett in a gruff voice. I couldn't have agreed more, but I didn't want to seem completely envious of Rose's looks and charm. I shrugged in a non-committal manner. "Why won't Rosalie give me a chance? One minute she's happy with me, and the next she's totally pissed off! I can't keep up with that."

I felt bad for the guy. It was obvious he was enamored, and who could blame him?

"And what's going on with her and Edward?" grumbled Emmett. Again, I just shrugged. I had no idea, actually. It was entirely possible that they had feelings for each other, but maybe they were just friends.

"Maybe we should make them jealous, Bella." said Emmett quietly, lowering his voice and turning to look at me. I felt a nervous twitch in my stomach and had no idea what to say to that.

"Make them… jealous?" I repeated dumbly, because I wasn't entirely sure I had heard him right.

"Yeah…" he said, slowly warming to his own idea. "Maybe if they saw us together, they'd realize that _they _wanted us."

I shot him a quick look and he laughed. "Please. It's not like I haven't noticed that you've totally got the hots for my brother. You'd have to blind not to notice. Or Edward. I don't think he knows."I felt like disagreeing. I wanted to deny it, but the words wouldn't come out. Finally I just sighed, too bad of a liar to pretend I wasn't completely in love with Edward.

"Emmett, if we were pretending to be together, we'd actually have to… _do_ stuff." I pointed out, cheeks searing hot. I wanted to cover my head in shame.

"Not much." he protested. "Hold hands, spend time together. Maybe kiss a couple of times."

I shook my head hurriedly and he sighed. "No, Emmett. Just… no."

He sighed heavily and we looked back over at Rosalie and Edward. They were smiling and looking into each other's eyes. I felt the little green monster rising. Emmett's warm hand came to rest on my shoulder.

"Just think about it, okay?" he asked, and I nodded my head ever so slightly. I grabbed Alice and towed her in the direction of the springs. I desperately needed a place to think where Cullen men would not interfere.

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_Author's Note: Thanks for reading! The polls from the last chapter were enormously in Edward's favor, and now Emmett and Jasper are signing a petition to have their brother removed from Twilight. So far it's not going well, but they're thinking of taking off their shirts to gain more popularity._

_As always, if you have the time, please review : -)_


	16. Washed Clean

_Author's Note: Sorry if there are more typos in this chapter than usual, but I wanted to get it out as soon as possible to all the wonderful reviewers who have been waiting so patiently for it. Thanks for reading, guys!_

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**Edward**

The last week seemed like a distant blur. I remembered things in vague images and phrases, unable to actually remember whole conversations. I remembered the sound of Alice crying and the feeling of Emmett dutifully cleaning and rebandaging my wound. I remembered Jasper helping me sit up and forcing me to drink and eat, and I remembered Rosalie coming and going constantly, caring for the others as they cared for me. Most of my memories were of talking to Bella. I could remember her soft, sweet voice and her gentle, caring words. I could almost feel her fingers stroking my hair or brushing softly against my cheek. But I was feverish and sick, and after 'waking up', I had no idea if those memories were memories at all, or if they were just dreams.

It certainly wasn't a far stretch to say that I dreamed of a girl like Bella.

After that morning when my fever broke, I wanted desperately to ask her what had happened. I needed to hear her either confirm or deny for me, because I had no idea what the truth was. I was set on telling her how I felt now that I was actually in the right mind to do so, but she avoided me like the plague. When I asked to talk to her alone, she refused and made herself busy with other things so that she wouldn't have to be alone with me. When she sat next to me, it felt like she was cringing away. And when I reached over to hold her hand after her shock of seeing Alice drenched in blood, she pulled it away after only a few moments.

Alice was busy with her projects, the main one being Jasper, so I couldn't seem to peg her down long enough to ask her what was going on with Bella. Although I'd always felt a little bit uncomfortable around Rosalie, I ended up going to her for advice. At first she was all business and wasn't exactly willing to discuss Bella's personal feelings, but after a while she opened up to me a little bit. She was actually a lot nicer than I had given her credit for, and I felt guilty for judging her before. She helped me constantly that first day, and she assured me that Bella had at least some sort of feelings for me. By the way she was acting, I worried that those assurances were only meant to make me feel better.

More than a week passed by, and I slowly got stronger and stronger. I was able to walk on my own with the walking stick that Alice and Jasper had made for me, and Rosalie went for a walk with me every day so that I could strengthen my leg. On those walks we gathered fruit and discussed Bella.

"Have you noticed that lately she's been spending a lot more time with Emmett?" I asked Rosalie one day. She didn't slow her steady stride, but her expression darkened.

"Have they?" she asked curtly, her voice sharp. I frowned.

"I think so, yes.""Well, I suppose there isn't really much choice on this island. Her selection is kind of limited."

That was true, I supposed, but it still didn't sit right with me. We walked for a bit in silence.

"I mean, I know he's your brother," said Rosalie, picking up the conversation again. Apparently she had been still thinking about it too. "but he's not exactly the sharpest tool in the shed, is he? Bella could do much better. I really doubt that there's anything going on there."

My frown deepened, because Emmett wasn't stupid at all. My brother was smart and good looking and funny. I knew lots of women that would go for him in a heart beat. Her attempt at assurance didn't assure me at all. If anything it had me worrying even more.

"I just need to talk to her." I said, kicking a rock away from the little path we were starting to wear through the jungle's underbrush. "But she won't be alone with me for even two minutes! What am I doing wrong? You're her friend- has she said anything to you?"

Rosalie gave me a sharp look. "Yes, she's my friend. And if she told me something in confidence, it would stay that way."

I didn't say anything in response to that because I admired it even when I simultaneously hated it. It was just so unfair! I just needed to be able to speak to her, and somehow the girl managed to be busy all the time on a deserted island when there were only five other people to be around.

Rosalie sighed and I snapped from my reverie, looking over at her. She looked weary, and it made absolute sense. She seemed to never put her guard down. All that effort to be strong all the time had to be tiring. Why did she feel like she had to constantly be perfect? She was intimidating enough- when she was _trying _to be tough she was downright frightening. Not that I'd tell her that. I could only imagine what her response would be.

"Look, Bella hasn't said a single word to me about it either way." she admitted, and I felt my heart plummet a little bit. I began to get the feeling that all the 'memories' I'd had of Bella saying kind, wonderful, comforting things to me hadn't been memories at all, but merely delusions. And now that I'd woken up and focused all of my intensity on getting her to talk to me alone, I'd frightened away a person who didn't reciprocate my feelings at all. No wonder she was avoiding me like the plague- she didn't like me and I was making her feel uncomfortable. I began to regret all at once all the significant glances I'd angled at her, all the times I had reached for her hand. I'd made a fool of myself. My shoulders drooped inwardly and I inhaled softly with a feeling of despair.

Rose and I headed back to camp in silence, and she seemed as wrapped up in her thoughts as I was. I made a mental note to ask her what she was thinking about later, but at the moment I was too depressed about my own predicament to be anything other than utterly self-centered. I held back a branch and let Rosalie pass under it before I followed after into our camp. I looked up to see that Emmett and Bella were perched on the fallen log. Bella looked up at me with wide brown eyes and I couldn't make out the meaning of her expression. Her opulent eyes widened further when Emmett took hold of her hand. She looked at Emmett, bearing a surprised expression, and he smiled serenely back at her. I heard Rose emit an unladylike snort of derision and she stormed past them toward the beach.

"What's blondie's problem?" asked Emmett, smirking. He looked completely pleased with himself, and for the first time in my life I wanted to punch my own brother in his tan, smiling, handsome face.

"Why don't you go ask _Rosalie _yourself?" I asked, my voice sharp as glass. "I need to talk to Bella anyway."

Bella jolted up as if an electric current had passed through the log. She tugged her hand out of Emmett's and looked oddly startled, with a deer-in-headlights expression on her face that was still almost as pale as when we had arrived.

"I told Alice I'd meet her at the spring." said Bella. "I can't talk right now."

And she practically ran into the jungle, tripping over a tree root and almost falling. She caught herself at the last second, scrambled to get up, and didn't slow down. Emmett raised his eyebrows at me and grinned.

"What did you want to talk to Bells about?" he asked good naturedly.

_Bells? _He was calling her _Bells _now? When had they gotten on a nick-name basis?

"That's between me and Bella." I told him coldly. "It's none of your business."

He didn't seem overly bothered by my surly attitude and merely shrugged. "Whatever. Suit yourself."

He lazily stood from the log, stretched languidly, and pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it in the sand.

"I'm going to go find Blondie." he said, and I gave a curt nod, wondering vaguely why that required him to take his shirt off. I rolled my eyes at his back as he sauntered toward the beach, oozing self-confidence.

"Hey, Edward!" called Alice, coming out of the trees with Jasper following a few steps behind. My sister beamed at me and Jasper nodded. I looked at her in confusion.

"Aren't you supposed to be meeting Bella at the spring?" I asked. She frowned and looked over her shoulder at Jasper. He shrugged. She turned back to me.

"No, I don't think so. Why?"

I sighed and let my tired body drop into the sand. "Oh, no reason." I said, rubbing my temples as the beginnings of a headache began to throb in my skull like the dull beating of a drum. "I just realized that Bella wants absolutely nothing to do with me and I have no idea why."

I opened my eyes and saw Alice and Jasper having a silent, meaningful conversation with each other. Alice's lips were tight and Jasper was shaking his head. I had no idea what they were saying, but they sure looked like they understood each other. For some reason their little link annoyed me a little. Alice and Jasper weren't even a couple, not really, and already they had that deep of a connection. They could speak to each other wordlessly. Hell, I couldn't even speak to Bella with the whole English language in my arsenal.

"Didn't you two get off to a bad start?" asked Jasper curiously, and Alice frowned at him.

"That doesn't matter, Jazz. They're past that. Besides, they're soul mates."

Jasper and I both frowned in confusion.

"We are?"

"They are?"

Alice nodded, her black spiky hair bobbing around her heart-shaped face and fluffier than usual from all the humidity. "Oh, yes. Of course. Neither of you realizes it yet, but you're meant to be together."

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. "And you know this because…?"

Alice sighed at me and put her hand on her hip, which she cocked out to the side. "Edward, I just _know_!" she said, as if that made any sense at all. I could feel Jasper's sympathy, but I could tell he wasn't going to argue with Alice's insane logic either. I was in this one alone.

"Maybe you should tell _her _that." I suggested, and I know I sounded just like a moody teenager. I was sulking, and Edward Cullen never sulked. It just wasn't who I was, and yet here I was…. _sulking. _Alice plopped down into the sand next to me and put her arm around my shoulders, leaning her cheek against my shoulder. She looked up at me with liquid hazel eyes that were thoughtful and intense.

"Maybe you should just tell her how you feel." she suggested, and I practically growled.

"That's what I've been _trying _to do!" I told her, frustration evident in my tone and I'm sure by my expression as well. She looked startled and pulled away from me very quickly. I instantly regretted yelling at her, because it wasn't her fault.

"Try to see things from Bella's perspective," said Jasper, taking Emmett's abandoned spot on the fallen log. "We're all marooned on this deserted island, and everyone is tired and hungry, and I'm sure you're all missing your families, right?"

I nodded glumly and felt my guilt intensify because Jasper didn't include himself in that category. He didn't have a family to miss in the first place.

"So she's stressed out and probably at her wit's end, and you go out and nearly get yourself killed and then have us all on pins and needles for over a week worrying that you're going die, and you came pretty damn close, too. Right now, I'm sure Bella has too much on her mind and just can't quite handle you trying to get information out of her, and the last thing she needs is another bomb dropped on her. And that's exactly what would happen if you told her that you were head over heels for her, and you'd probably tell her in completely the wrong way since you're so frustrated. So, just give her a little time, alright?"

This was the most I had heard Jasper say in weeks and I stared at him in surprise. But he was absolutely right, I realized. Everyone, Bella included, was feeling a lot of stress, and everyone was handling things remarkably well, but it didn't mean they weren't suffering for it internally. I missed Carlisle and Esme and my old life too, and the only way I was getting past the grief of that one was just to repress it. Maybe Bella just couldn't handle one more thing right now or all the walls she'd put up to protect herself would come crumbling down. What I needed to do was gain her trust and slowly start getting through all those walls one by one.

"Thanks, Jasper." I sighed, offering him a weak smile of gratitude. Alice hugged me and beamed, then nimbly hopped up. She perched herself right next to Jasper and smiled at him radiantly.

"You are so smart." she grinned, and Jasper turned slightly pink, looking down at his hands. I chuckled softly.

"So this whole thing with Bella and Emmett is in my head? There's not anything going on there?" I asked for clarification, and Alice nodded brightly.

"Of course. I mean, come on. Emmett and Bella? Not in a million years!"

**Emmett**

So far, Bella had not warmed very much to my little scheme, but I was working on her. I knew this was the way to get to Rosalie, and it would help Bella in the end too. I was sure that by the end we would all laugh over this. That was, _if _I could get Bella to hold my hand or _something_. She wouldn't budge.

When I held her hand in front of Edward and Rosalie, I thought her big brown eyes might pop out of her head. My second thought was that she might slap me in the face and then the little ruse I was working so hard on would be completely blown. But she just staggered away and nearly fell flat on her pretty little face to get away. Rosalie seemed sufficiently irritated, which surely meant that she was jealous, so phase one was going to plan. It was time to test the waters.

I made my way over to where I saw her standing knee-deep in the water. She was in a tiny red bikini and I felt my mouth water at the sight. I grinned and approached her.

"Catching some sun, or do you just enjoy being half naked and making me drool?" I asked, and she turned a frosty glare in my direction. My grin didn't waver.

"I'm tired of getting my clothes soaked every time I want to check the nets." she said coldly, and I shrugged.

"No one ever said you couldn't hit two birds with one stone."

"You're disgusting."

"You're foxy."

"You're a pig."

I smirked and nodded. "Yeah, so I've heard. Wanna tell me why you're so mad at me?" I asked, kicking off my shoes and walking into the water so that I was beside her. The hem of my ragged shorts got wet, but I didn't care.

"Wanna tell me why you and Bella are suddenly holding hands?" she countered, and I made a mental tally. Team Emmett: 1. Team Rose: 0. So far this was going exactly as I had hoped.

"Bella's a cute girl. Maybe you can put a good word in for me?"

Rosalie's face darkened and she put her hands on my chest and pushed me back. She was way stronger than I'd have ever giver her credit for, and the force of her little shove sent me sailing back into the water. I landed on my butt and my head went under for a second before I came spluttering back up. I held myself up with my hands wedged behind me for balance and coughed up salt water as I stared at her. She did not look pleased and she stomped out of the water.

A rumble of thunder seemed to mirror her expression, and I looked up to see that the sky above was gray and turbulent. A few soft drops landed on my upturned face and I picked myself up to get up out of the water before the rain really started coming down. I hurried in the direction of the camp where Rosalie had gone, and when I got there Rose was moodily poking the fire, now wearing shorts and a tshirt over her bikini, doing her damnedest to keep the fire going in the bleak drizzle from above. Alice and Jasper were collecting more branches for the fire around the perimeter of camp, and Edward and Bella were nowhere to be seen.

"Where're Bella and Edward?" I asked, and Rosalie only glared at me coldly before turning her back on me.

"Edward went to go get Bella. She's at the spring." said Alice, and I nodded. I picked up a piece of fruit and started peeling it with my knife, watching Rosalie as she stoked the fire. It was a nice view, I'm not gonna lie.

**Bella**

I clenched an unclenched the hand that had been held in Emmett's about half an hour before. My mind was reeling and I couldn't seem to think straight. I just needed some time to go through my thoughts and sort things out by myself. I found my way to the spring where I'd said I was going to meet Alice. Fortunately, I knew Alice would probably be busy for several more hours in the jungle with Jasper, so my lie would probably never crop up. I sat down on a large boulder that was a few yards away from the deep spot of the spring and peeled my shoes off of my feet. Then I pulled the ponytail-holder out of my hair and let the long, stringy, sweaty locks come down around my shoulders where I combed the tangles out with my fingers. I took of my shorts and tshirt till I was only clad in my bathing suit. After seeing Rosalie strip down to her bathing suit the week before to go into the water, I'd been inspired by her ingenuity and taken to wearing mine too. It was saving us the hassle of wearing wet, heavy, dripping clothes for an hour or two till they dried.

I stepped into the cold, spring water with a sigh and waded in till I was chest deep, then leaned back against a smooth, moss covered rock and closed my eyes. I needed to sort out what in the world I was going to do. Every time I felt like maybe I had the courage to talk to Edward, I'd go up to him and he'd be with Rosalie. They were always together, always smiling and laughing, and I'll admit it. I was jealous. Really jealous. And part of me just wanted him that much more because of it.

I was beginning to see the truth of Emmett's logic. If I felt this jealous when I saw Edward and Rosalie together, and in turn I wanted him to be mine even more, maybe it would work the same way if Edward and Rose saw Emmett and I spending time together. I was worried they'd see right through it, though. I was a terrible actress, and an awful liar. Who would ever believe our little charade?

There was also another fear wiggling around in my mind, and this one I didn't want to even acknowledge. But a part of me was really afraid that if Emmett and I pretended to like each other, that I might actually end up falling for him. This had lots of terrible outcomes that I could foresee. One, he might not like me back, and then I'd be pining after both of the Cullen men on this island and doubly miserable. Two, he might actually like me back (and this chance was a slim one), and then I would be further torn with my emotions. I didn't think anything, not even handsome, funny Emmett, could make me not like Edward, but what if I found that I could have feelings for more than one? I couldn't even handle the things swirling around in my head regarding Edward. I certainly didn't need Emmett's shenanigans messing things up further.

Thunder rumbled and I looked up into the stormy sky that had darkened even though it was only mid-afternoon. Fat, heavy raindrops began to fall down on my upturned face and landed heavily on the water so that I was being splashed from every direction. I sighed and dunked my head, and while under water tried to shake out as much grime and dirt and sand from my hair as possible. I hadn't had the foresight to bring shampoo, but washing it in plain water was better than nothing. I scrubbed my body with my hands and started crawling out of the water.

From my left I heard the crunching of leaves and looked up to see that Edward was approaching me, an exasperated look on his face.

"Bella," he said, frowning at me. Disapproving. "You shouldn't go out by yourself."

I climbed out of the spring and awkwardly tried to hide as much of my bikini-clad body as possible. He stood in the way of my dry clothes, which were getting wetter and wetter by the moment. I wiped the rain from my eyes and looked back at him. He stood stoically in the rainfall as if such mundane things as a thunder storm had no effect on him.

"I thought you were going to meet up with Alice." he said, and I shrugged.

"I guess she forgot." I said, and there was a false note to my voice that I couldn't help. I wished that I could be one of those people who was a good liar.

"Bullshit." spat Edward, and I cringed a little. "Alice is back at camp. Don't lie to me, Bella."

I felt suddenly very guilty, but also very embarrassed about my lack of clothes. He seemed to notice my attire, or lack there of, and I couldn't make out his expression through the rain.

"Erm, Edward?" I asked, pointing behind him. "Could you please hand me my clothes?"

"Your what?" he asked blankly, and then looked behind him. "Oh! You're clothes. Yeah, here." he said, handing them to me. I took them and hastily dressed. The rain was really coming down, and the darkness was hopefully hiding how pink in the face I was.

"Bella, we need to talk."

"I can't right now." I said, and I tried to move past him in the direction of camp. He blocked my path. I sighed and turned around, going in the opposite direction. I had to get away from him.

"Where are you going?" he called to me, and I didn't answer. He limped after me, surprisingly quick for a guy on a make-shift crutch. My guilt intensified over the fact that he might be hurting himself, but I mentally convinced myself that he could stop and turn around any time he wanted.

I hurried further into the woods, and he hurried after me. "Bella, stop this!" he ordered me, and I swung around.

"Fine." I said angrily, my hair wet and dripping across my face. His bronze hair looked as black as Alice's when it was wet and it clung in little tendrils around his pale, handsome face. I caught my breath at the sight of him, trying not to be so transparent. His clothing clung to his body and I could perfectly see the breadth of his strong shoulders, his long, strong arms and lean abdomen. I dropped my eyes, trying not to stare. I could feel his eyes on me and I glanced up at him for only a second to see that his green eyes flashed with some unreadable emotion.

"Bella…" he said, and stopped as if he didn't know what to say. There was a moment of silence and I diligently stared down at the wet, leafy ground. "Is there- Is there something going on between you and Emmett?"

I looked up at him in surprise and didn't know what to say. The cold rain beat down hard and I shivered. He saw my motion and his hard, green eyes softened.

"You're freezing." he stated, and closed the gap between us. He put his arm around my shoulders and pulled me in close to his body where I could feel the body heat radiating off of him in reassuring waves. He pulled me under a large tree where the majestic, leafy branches shielded us from the majority of the falling rain. It beat a soothing tempo around us, and underneath our canopy of leaves, huddled up to Edward, I felt safe and cozy. I closed my eyes and breathed in his scent, then opened them again and looked up at him. He was staring at me wonderingly and I blushed under the intensity of his gaze. At that moment, it felt like we were the only two people in the world. The rain around us blocked out everything else.

"Bella, I need you to tell me." he implored. "Is there something going on between you and Emmett?"

A heavy lump formed in my throat that I couldn't seem to swallow down. I felt like a floundering fish. I was put on the spot and he was asking me a question I hadn't decided the answer to yet. I'd only just been deliberating that very question. Or rather, not so much whether I should be with Emmett or not, but whether I should _pretend _to be. I had to remember that this involved not only me, but Emmett and Edward and Rosalie. I needed to take everyone into consideration. What happened if I admitted my feelings to him now and I was rejected? What happened if I denied Emmett and he was miserable because he lost his chance with Rose? Could I do that to him?

"I-"

I looked up at him, struggling. He stroked my cheek and I closed my eyes, leaning my cheek against his palm. He tilted my chin up so that I would have to look him in the eye. I did, and it didn't help me one bit.

"Edward, don't ask me that." I implored to him. His lips parted with an unspoken question. He didn't understand, and I couldn't explain this one to him.

"Don't do this." he said, his voice thick. "Don't keep pushing me away."

His arm tightened around me so that I was pressed against him. I put my hands on his chest, feeling his warmth and the pulse of his heartbeat. It was a steady metronome that beat a much more even tempo than the cascading rain. I looked up into his eyes and they bore into mine as if he was trying to see into my soul. A bolt of lightning crashed in the distance and momentarily illuminated the whole sky. My hands clenched around the fabric of his shirt and I shivered, but it was from his presence, not the cold.

The world around us was black and filled with the white noise of heavy rain. I could only make out the crisp silhouette of his face and the greenness of his eyes. We were both soaking wet and warmed only by the other's body heat, and I found I couldn't seem to look anywhere but at him, and my body refused to pull away even though my mind was screaming for me to protect myself from getting hurt by him. The emotion was too raw to fight, though.

"Edward, I can't-" I said, and my voice caught in my throat so that my words sounded like a plea or a whimper. His eyes hardened and I thought he was going to let go of me, but his arm around me pulled me close against him and his lips came crashing down on mine.

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_Author's Note: I think the next section will have to be from Edward's point of view to properly get this scene done. What do you guys think? : -)_


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